Serena Williams has changed the algorithm of the way Americans view women’s rise in the tennis arena. However, since her retirement in 2022, a lot of other tennis players including Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula have been trying to follow in her footsteps to keep her legacy alive.
Recently, the 29-year-old American tennis star astonished everyone as she made a blunt Serena Williams admission. Not only that, she also opened up about her thoughts on the privilege of following the 42-year-old American tennis Legend’s athletic path.
Following the former world number one’s footsteps in the tennis world is not easy, but at the same time, Pegula and Gauff are trying to keep her legacy alive in the best way possible. Recently, in an interview with Forbes the fifth-ranked tennis player opened up her heart regarding how she and her doubles partner are putting effort into following the legendary Serena Williams legacy.
But before that in the same conversation, Jessica Pegula also made a strong statement regarding how it’s not easy to keep up with the 42-year-old American tennis legend’s legacy. She stated, “I don’t think anyone can fill Serena’s shoes.”
Along with that, talking about Gauff, she detailed how it’s not easy to be the only American, to carry the pressure of being called the next Venus or Serena Williams. Pegula mentioned, “Someone like Coco has a lot of pressure on her as far as being regarded as the next Serena or Venus. I don’t really see that as a role I have to fill. But it’s pretty cool when I can say ‘I’ve won this many hardcourt matches, it hasn’t been done since Serena.’ Having little stats like that is really cool.”
Nevertheless, she is not the only one who talked about how it’s not easy to live up to the pressure of being the Americans who lead their country in the world of tennis. A few months back, even the 19-year-old American tennis star brought out a totally different perspective amid witnessing noisy Serena Williams’ expectations rising around her.
During the US Open in a post-match press conference, the Grand Slam champion opened up about how she is a privileged tennis player while addressing the real hardships of the world. She said, “At first I used to think negative things, like, why is there so much pressure, why is this so hard, blah, blah, blah. I realize in a way it’s pressure, but it’s not.”
Along with that, Gauff also highlighted how there are people who are struggling to feed their family not knowing when they might get their next meal, so her problem is quite small. That’s why rather than being under pressure to follow Williams’ footsteps, she is just enjoying her ride in the tennis world.
