If I cared deeply about what people thought of me, I probably would have never made it out of Compton, California.

To stay interested in tennis, I have to mix it up with other things.

The thing is, it's not good anyway for eight-year-olds to be out there playing tennis tournaments so soon in their lives. But when I did get to play in a tournament, when I was nine, I was overjoyed.

My motto has always been that you can't say, 'Oh, it won't happen to me.' You have to say, 'That can happen to me.' So always be aware that things can happen.

Sport teaches you so much, and you can translate that to other parts of life. But it's definitely a lot of dedication, not just for, you know, myself or the children, but the parents, the family finances, the money that you could be putting toward retirement you're using to buy tennis shoes and restring rackets and tennis lessons. So if you don't make it, then you may never retire. It's definitely a lot of risk.

I wear a lot of tight dresses, so I'm like, 'I need to do my sit-ups!'

For years I felt that I didn't have enough stamina and then, four years ago, I felt like I was not getting enough air but I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma. The medicine for asthma never worked.