"I am very God-fearing and I believe in the Bible" - When Serena Williams found a way to deal with racism directed towards her through religion

Serena Williams is one of the most successful tennis players to have ever played the game, amassing trophies like it was second nature. A winner of 23 Grand Slam titles in singles and 14 in doubles, the American is among the greatest sports stars the world has seen.

But Williams' path to glory has been anything but easy. Hailing from a poor background in Compton, she and her sister Venus Williams had to face numerous struggles along the way, especially coming up in a predominantly White sport.

The Williams sisters' battles against racist attacks directed towards them have been well documented, with the Indian Wells incident being the most notable. Yet, none of that deterred them, as the duo went on to achieve incredible success on the tour against all odds.

Serena Williams, speaking in an interview with Sky Sports in 2020, pinpointed how she has been subjected to a lot of inequality mainly based on her skin color, something she felt was really a systematic oppression of Black folks.

"A lot of people don't know that in my whole life, I've had to deal with so many different challenges. I've had to deal with a lot of inequality, I've had to deal with racism and sadly, it's become, unfortunately, somewhat of a norm for people who have my skin colour," Serena Williams said.

"It is really unfortunate, but it's something I think that, systematically, we just have to ultimately deal with, and I shouldn't have let it become a norm," she added.

As for how she dealt with it, the 23-time Grand Slam champion thanked her belief in God. A pious Jehovah's Witness who has since been baptized, Williams believes that her religious nature has played a key role in accepting things beyond her control and finding solace in life.

"I, personally, am very God-fearing and I believe in the Bible, and the one way that we can have peace and security is through God, so I've taken solace in that, but it's sad that someone on my level has had to accept so many different things because of the colour of my skin," Williams said.

"I entered a sport that was all white, and it definitely wasn't easy" - Serena Williams

2021 French Open - Day Two - Source: Getty

Expanding on the racism she overcame along the way, Serena Williams admitted that the journey was not always easy, especially when people made her feel 'unaccepted' in their midst.

Once again, the former World No. 1 credited her religious background for coming to her aid, arguing that she would have otherwise become an angry person if she did not have God to fall back on.

"It's hard. It's something that, unfortunately, has become normal for us. It's normal to go to different places and feel unaccepted. I entered a sport that was all white, and it definitely wasn't easy, looking back," Williams said in the aforementioned interview.

"I was also very young and I just adapted. I wasn't there to be besties with anybody, I was just there to play tennis... and it all really boiled down to my faith, and that all of this is temporary. I don't think I would be in this position, I think I would be very angry, very spiteful, very jealous, if I didn't have that spiritual background," Williams said.

Two years after the interview, Williams retired from tennis finally, playing at the US Open in front of her home fans and delighting them for one last time.