Serena Williams: The Blueprint

Making

WBEZ Chicago

Society & Culture

4.6 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 September 2023

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In early September, 19-year-old Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open. She is the first American teenager to win the tournament since 1999, when 17-year-old Serena Williams took the crown. Gauff has said Serena is the reason she plays tennis. She is her tennis idol, and for good reason. Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles – more than any player in the Open era. But before becoming a household name, Serena was a girl from Compton with a drive. This week on "Making", Brandon Pope revisits the years before anyone knew Serena’s name. Hear from the people in the room and on the court during her evolution to tennis prodigy, including her sister Isha Price, former tennis pro Chanda Rubin, and childhood coach Rick Macci.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I grew up watching her last reason why play tennis.
0:04.3	You've touched our hearts and minds to use our voices to dream big.
0:11.8	One of the greatest champions that our country has ever produced in any sport to one of the
0:15.2	most important players that any sport has ever had.
0:18.3	There's a reason why she's the goat because she's the greatest full-time.
0:21.5	And guess what, you're just beginning!
0:28.0	From WBEZ Chicago, this is Making.
0:31.4	I'm Brandon Pope.
0:36.6	Today…
0:45.2	Making Serena Serena Williams has won 23 grand slam titles, more than any other tennis player
0:53.8	in the open era.
0:55.3	She holds a joint record of 186 consecutive weeks at number 1.
1:01.1	But more than the stats, Serena Williams has become a cultural icon that's bigger than
1:06.8	the game.
1:08.0	Very few players ever have an impact beyond their sport.
1:11.4	Serena and her sister Venus, as much as anyone that I can think of at any sport, walked
1:15.7	in a door that might not have otherwise exited they'd be built the door.
1:20.3	From Compton, California to goat status, what were the making years that define Serena
1:25.1	Williams as one of the greatest athletes of all time?
1:28.9	I went on the courts with just a ball and a racket and a hope, and that's all I had.
1:38.9	Serena's story begins in Compton, California, before she was born, when her father, Richard
1:44.4	Williams, had a dream.
	...

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