Serena Williams Queen of the Court

Tunde's death. She had been out for a late dinner with friends, just like I though. But the she drove over to Compton, our old neighborhood, with this guy she'd just started seeing. It was just after midnight, and some kind of argument or confrontation took place. I can't imagine Tunde arguing with anyone over anything, so I'm guessing the guy she was with doing the talking. Anyway , somebody pulled out a gun, and shots were fired into the SUV Tunde was riding in.  According to the police report, Tunde was hit by the shots that were meant for her boyfriend. just like that , she was gone. Just like that, my great , big sister was taken from us- just when we needed her the most. Her three young children needed her most of all.    

Venus, she never thought about herself when we were kids, at least not when it came to me. One day I realized just before lunch that I didn't have any money. The way it worked at this particular school was if you didn't have any money for lunch you'd stand in this special line and they'd give you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was always so embarrassing to have to stand in that line. On this day, though, they were serving fried chicken, and I loved fried chicken! The thought of missing out on all that fried chicken, and having to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead, was just too upsetting. I told Venus the deal, and what did she do? She reached into her pocket and handed me her lunch money. She didn't even think about it. She just said, I'll have the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I like peanut and jelly.     

The second development on the fashion front came with a gentle push from Venus. Actually , it was more like a shove. V was on me all the time to join her at school, but I couldn't be bothered. One day , she got so fed up with me she just signed me up for classes, without even discussing it. She came home that afternoon and said, That's it. I'm tired of watching you waste your time like this. You're going to college.  

Venus always picked me for her team. 

Serena Williams had visited earlier Senegal and Ghana as the trip came at the right time to shake Williams out from a depression that had been digging me since Tunde's death and the professional funk. The trip put me back down a positive path, focused , determined and boundlessly aware of how strong I am and how far I can go. There was a magnetic pull calling me to the continent. The trip put me in full mind of my heritage and my responsibility to that heritage. I wanted to go because I thought it would give weight and meaning and context to my life. It would authenticate the stories I carried about my family - where we came from, what we endured. We spent some time giving out polio vaccines , malaria pills and vitamin A supplements at area hospitals and clinics. And various types of mosquito netting. It was just Halloween. We'd gone out and bought plenty of Candy so I could walk around and give it to kids. I was down on my piece one afternoon, and I gave it to this little girl who must have been about five. Just then, she caught the eye of another little girl, and without even thinking about it she offered her last piece of candy. In Senegal, I met with President Abdoulaye Wade, and I agreed to help him build a school that young children could attend for free. Perhaps the most personally meaningful stops on that first African tour were our visits to the notorious slave castles on the coast of Ghana. There was one called Elmina Castle. I walked through those big , cavernous rooms, and I could feel all this trapped power, all this short-circuited energy, all these lives cut down by oppression. It was awful. There was no light, no ventilation. Incredibly, you could still smell excrement in some of the rooms, and where the women were kept there was a slightly stronger, almost sour smell, which our tour guide said was from their menstrual cycles.           

Rick Macci , the pro tennis coach. Rick spent a bunch of time watching Venus hit. He was impressed, but not especially so. Remember , this was a guy worked with tennis phenoms every day, so he was judging Venus against this group. At  one point, Venus asked for a break so she could go to the bathroom, and when Daddy said it was okay she dropped her racquet and walked part of the way across the court on her hands. Then she did a couple cartwheels and handsprings. Rick Macci looked at Venus's acrobatics and said Mr Williams, it looks like you have the next Michael Jordan on your hands. And Daddy - bless him!- looked over toward me and said, No Mr Macci, we've got the next two Michael Jordans.

Tunde's murderers.

Better teacher and motivated students in Williams' new school in Florida. 

Winning 25 grand slams. 

Treat match officials with respect.