Venus [Williams] has an amazing line; I love her collection. I'm always at her office. She has an interior design company and her EleVen company. They have a wonderful office space and I'm always there for the interior part and get to see what she's doing with EleVen.

I am here to play women's tennis. I'm a lady. Predominantly, most of the time I always like to play ladies.

I love "Phenomenal Woman." The experiences she had of being African American in the U.S. - that itself is a task. I appreciate the hardships Maya Angelou went through for our generation. I'm super influenced by the black people that paved the way for us.

My smile is my favorite part of my body. I think a smile can make your whole body. I want women to know that it's ok. That you can be whatever size you are and be beautiful inside and out.

I've never felt invincible. I've never used that word to describe me ever.

I always ask my dad why wasn't I a lefty? Even when I was younger I wanted to be lefty. I could have been really good.

It's remarkable she [Venus Williams] plays at all, given her Sjögren's syndrome [an autoimmune disorder that can cause joint pain]. She's back, winning tournaments. She didn't allow society to tell her, "You have this disease; you can't do that anymore." I look at her, like, "She's not playing at 100 percent. You are. You don't have excuses." Knowing what she went through helped me try to be a more positive person.