00:00Just because Serena has been great and done all the things that she's done, that has nothing to do with me.
00:04Like, I'm my own person. I've done what I've done.
00:07Like, I'm proud of my accomplishments. Like, I'm trying to do this and in this lane.
00:11And it has nothing to do with her. Like, whatever she does is amazing.
00:14Like, she's done so much for the sport.
00:18We're here with Sloane Stephens, who is a superstar in tennis. We know her. We love her.
00:23If you were to tell people who you are as an elevator pitch, like, how do you define yourself?
00:28I'll fight for you. I'll ride for you. Like, anything you need me to do, I got you.
00:32I'm not down, girl. Call me 3 o'clock in the morning. I'll come pick you up.
00:35A good person. I'm a good friend, yes.
00:37That's good. And how does that play into who you are as an athlete?
00:41Because I think that that's how we see you.
00:43In competition, sometimes it's maybe a little bit of a downfall.
00:47But for the most part, I think it's, you know, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win my match, to compete, to get better, to learn, to grow, all of that stuff.
00:55So I think it's kind of, there's pros and cons to it.
00:57Right. Let's talk about that a little bit because I find it very frustrating as a black woman to watch black women in this sport be criticized for their emotions.
01:08What do you think about the fact that it is highly criticized and nitpicked?
01:12It is unfair. And at times it's very overwhelming. It's harsh. It's critical.
01:17Being an African-American woman in the sport, everything is criticized.
01:21Everything is looked at as like, oh, she's trying to do this. She's trying to be this person.
01:24She's trying to be somebody else. She's trying, and it's like, I'm just trying to be me, but that's not what it's seen as.
01:29It's seen as some other, I can't even tell you all the things that I've heard about myself that I'm like, that doesn't make sense.
01:34I don't try to do everything. I just try to be me and do and pick and choose what I want to do.
01:39And that's just kind of how I see it.
01:41I love that. That's why we love you.
01:42Oh, thank you.
01:43I mean, this is not the easiest sport to break into as a black woman.
01:48And you mentioned like comparisons and things.
01:50It's impossible because Serena is the goat, not only of tennis, but just of all time.
01:56So a lot of the time people, they do want to compare or they do want to have her be this standard.
02:01Do you feel as though you have to fight to come out from under the wing or under the lights, camera action of all that Serena Williams is?
02:12I don't think so. I think that there's so many different people.
02:15And I think I was telling somebody earlier that she doesn't get the acknowledgement that she should just because she's an African-American woman.
02:23And I feel like if you're going to be the greatest of all time, you're just going to be the greatest of all time, period.
02:27And it's not, oh, because she's a woman or she's, oh, she's only the greatest female tennis player to ever play.
02:33Like, no, she's the baddest that there is.
02:34Just because Serena has been great and done all the things that she's done, that has nothing to do with me.
02:38Like, I'm my own person. I've done what I've done.
02:41Like, I'm proud of my accomplishments.
02:43Like, I'm trying to do this and in this lane and it has nothing to do with her.
02:46Like, whatever she does is amazing.
02:48Like, she's done so much for the sport, especially for young black girls.
02:51I'm trying to be as good as me.
02:52Like, I'm trying to be as good as Sloan and make Sloan the best.
02:56And congratulations, because you are doing amazing work.
02:59And you're killing the game, literally killing the game.
03:02And, like, can we look at the shoes?
03:04Oh.
03:05Her own shoe.
03:06That's how you really know you're making it.
03:07Exactly.
03:08How does that feel?
03:08What does that look like to be the little black girl?
03:11Yeah, I think it's really cool.
03:12In tennis.
03:13Obviously, like, to have your own shoe.
03:17Like, not only my own shoe, but it's a Jordan collab.
03:19It's my favorite Jordan.
03:20The Jordan 8's.
03:21The Retro's, the 93 with the aqua colorway.
03:25These are my favorite shoes.
03:26So to be able to turn them into, like, a tennis shoe and have other people play with them
03:30and see them and whatever, I think, as a little black girl, I never imagined that I'd have,
03:35you know, sponsorships like Mercedes and Nike and Jordan.
03:40And I have all these amazing things.
03:41And it's just because I worked really hard and I love what I do and I just hope that it inspires some other young black girl and even another woman in general just to go out and get what you want and fight for it and fight for your dreams and whatever it is.
03:55It's like, just don't let anybody tell you know.
03:57We're here today because you're hosting a clinic.
04:00And I want to know what that feels like for you.
04:03What does this mean?
04:03Is this an awesome full circle moment to be here at the U.S.
04:06Open to be pouring back into people that would like to see themselves play as awesome as you?
04:11Yeah, definitely.
04:12I think I love doing these clinics just because people who come to these clinics actually really enjoy tennis.
04:18They love tennis, but they also love me, which is good.
04:20And they love to, like, learn and, like, you can teach them stuff.
04:23And they want to hit a forehand like you.
04:25They want to hit a backhand like you.
04:26They want to, you know, show their grandkids or whoever, like, I met you and I took a picture with you.
04:32And I think that part of, like, touching someone and being able to relate and just kind of share, you know, what I know, my knowledge, even as just like a, hey, how's it going, like, just a little chat.
04:41Like, I think it affects people a lot more than just, like, seeing you from far away or whatever.
04:46So it's really nice to be able to speak to women and have it be an all-women clinic, which is amazing.
04:51And, yeah, it just feels really cool because you don't always get to do that.
04:55I just strive to become better and I don't want to be 65 and working.
04:59I want to, you know, leave a mark.
05:01I want to leave a mark and I want to be proud of something.
05:03Whatever I build, I want to build a great brand.
05:05And I think I'm doing that now and I'm just going to try to, you know, keep going forward and do it the best I can.
05:11I'll see you next time.
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