Discipline and a winning mentality are the keys to my success: Serena Williams

▲ If you want to be a champion at something, you have to pay the price, said the former American tennis player. AFP photo

Karla Torrijos

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, September 6, 2025, p. a11

Former American tennis player Serena Williams revealed that the key points of her successful career, in which she won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, were discipline and having a winning mentality.

Three years after her retirement as a professional tennis player, on September 2, 2022, the historic athlete shared aspects of her career with thousands of young scholarship recipients who attended the event called Mexico Siglo XXI yesterday at the National Auditorium.

Dressed in a pink Mexican dress, sneakers, and with blonde hair, the 43-year-old former tennis player from Michigan said that her mother was the one who instilled discipline in her from a young age, and even confessed that she was not allowed to play tennis if she didn't get good grades in school.

“I feel really lucky that my mother gave me a lot of discipline. I don't know where it comes from. Some of it can be learned, some of it can be brought with you. I was taught, yes, but she was also obsessed with winning and being number one. Discipline is incredibly important to achieving anything, whether in sports, business, or everyday life, and it's a key step toward success,” said the four-time Olympic gold medalist.

He also emphasized that "you always have to have a winning mentality in all aspects of life. Being a winner is something you can prove, and how do you prove it? Regardless of your decision, if you want to be a doctor or do anything, you have to pay the price."

"Champions have to pay for it, and it's not always fun. There are times, for example, when you'd rather sit and watch TV, read a novel, or simply do nothing; however, it's paying the price in the moment because it will pay back in the future.

“Successful people also understand that you have to work hard and that there won't be an immediate reward, but rather a later one. They know that things don't happen overnight; you have to develop the work step by step,” said Williams, who held the number one spot in the WTA rankings for 319 weeks, 186 of them consecutively.

The event, organized by the Telmex Foundation, was also attended by Mexican diver Osmar Olvera, who recently became world champion in the 3-meter springboard event, and the national women's flag football team, which last month won its second title at the World Games in Chengdu, China.

Olvera said his recent success was the fruit of "a lot of effort, a lot of discipline. If you really put your mind to something, that dream will come true sooner or later."

For her part, quarterback Diana Flores commented that her victory "gives us the certainty that Mexicans are made for great things, to break barriers around the world. Sport has that great virtue; it's a means to transcend. Don't give up, anything is possible. Think of gold and dreams will come true."