Some athletes change scoreboards.
Some athletes change standards.
Serena Williams changed perception.
She expanded what dominance looked like in women’s sports. What tennis stars looked like. What moms could accomplish in the sporting world.
She always competed unapologetically.
She expressed her emotion unapologetically. Regardless of how others accepted or perceived it.
She returned to elite competition after motherhood unapologetically.
And in doing so, she expanded the image of who belongs at the top for girls and women everywhere.
Representation is not symbolic.
It shapes belief.
When girls see power that looks like them — in strength, in style, in skin color, in voice — their imagination expands. Possibility expands infinitely.
Williams didn’t just blow the sport of tennis open with her killer game, but she invested in women’s sports upon her retirement. She and her husband have backed multiple women’s sports teams and leagues, and they have taken off.
Taking up space to be who you want to be is the most brave act a woman can commit. I hope you’ll be like Serena, and blaze your own path doing whatever it is you care most about.
For coaches, this is a reminder:
The environments we create either shrink identity or expand it.
Serena didn’t ask to fit into someone else’s version of womanhood or greatness.
She forced the definitions to grow.
Because she redefined power, girls redefined themselves.
Because she did, we can.
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