ESSENCE: I’ve read that when you were
building your fashion company, you decid-
ed to invest in yourself as an entrepreneur.
What has been the joy in doing that?
WILLIAMS: Knowing that you only fail if
you fail to try. My biggest joy is that I know
that I’m doing something that I’ve always
wanted to do, that I always dreamed of doing.
I went to fashion school back in the early
2000’s. This didn’t just pop up for me. It’s
something I’ve literally been doing and design-
ing for my whole life. I’d never had an
opportunity to have a meaningful partner-
ship where I could be more creative and
have a more global reach. But I decided
that since I couldn’t find that partner, I just
needed to do it on my own. Because when
you invest in yourself, it helps your confi-
dence, and you’ll know forever that whether
you make it or not, you stepped up to the
plate. And that’s what I’ve done my whole
career. Not everyone believed in me in the
beginning, but I stepped up to the plate,
and it’s been working out. We have wonder-
ful feedback, and we’re learning, and we’re
growing. That’s key.
ESSENCE: You’ve already broken so many
barriers in tennis—whether it’s earning your
23rd Grand Slam, winning the Australian Open
while you were pregnant, coming back to
the game and winning after a difficult
childbirth. Also you’re running a fashion
brand; you’re an entrepreneur. You really
represent freedom. But what does free-
dom mean to you?
WILLIAMS: Freedom means standing up
and not being afraid to say, “I’m here” or
“Hear my voice” or “This isn’t what I agreed
to” or “This isn’t fair and that isn’t right.”
That’s freedom for me. I’ve done it my
whole career. It’s knowing where I’ve come
from, knowing my history. In particular, the
sport that I’m in. When I first started, there
weren’t a lot of people who looked like me.
So it was really important to always help
other people feel as if this is something
they could also be a part of. This is some-
thing they could be into. It’s about speaking
up and just saying, “You know what? You
belong here, too.” This is freedom. º
Cori Murray (@corimurray) is ESSENCE’s
entertainment director.
ESSENCE.COM I 116 I SEPTEMBER 2019