I'm proud to have opened [two] schools in Africa and one in Jamaica [through the Serena Williams Fund and its partners]. I was given a lot. I was given two parents. That's already starting above a lot of kids. And then I was given the opportunity to play tennis and parents who supported that. I feel I can give back.

I was just tired of losing... Life was passing me by.

I'm Serena Williams on the court, but away I have so many different names. I call myself Butterfly.

Family's first, and that's what matters most. We realize that our love goes deeper than the tennis game.

If I have a daughter and she plays tennis, and I have a son who plays tennis, I wouldn't say that my son deserves more money because he's a man. I would say they deserve the same amount of money.

You just have to prove to yourself that you can go out there and be the best that you can be and not prove anything to anyone.

I meet people who say, "Girl, I watch every match, and I pray for you." I feel that energy and those prayers. Sometimes when I'm down on the court, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "They want me to win. Is there anything else I can give?" It encourages me to do better, to fight harder.