by her. >> they deserve everything. and i wouldn't be serena if there wasn't venus. for my husband and everyone and their thoughts. >> once in a lifetime or once in a generation there are certain athletes who come along and they transcend the sport. >> we saw it with tiger woods. we saw it with michael jordan. serena to me she did that for tennis. >> she changed wearing your emotions on your sleeve and being who you are. she made it a more welcoming and inviting sport for everyone. she revolutionized it just by being herself. >> she was so dominant for so long, especially at the most difficult time to be dominant in womens sports and womens tennis. >> she has never allowed anybody to dictate what she'll say or what she'll do. serena has always played on and off the court on her terms. >> com e on. hi. >> so this is from serena's essay she wrote in her book. i never wanted to have to choose between tennis and family. if i were a guy i wouldn't be writing this. >> because i'd be out there playing and winning while my wife is doing the physical labor of our family. >> don't get me wrong. i love every second with olympia. i'm turning 41 this month and something's got to give. maybe the best word to describe what i'm up to is evolution. >> i'm here to tell you that i'm evolving away from tennis toward other things that are important to me. >> the pain in the article that serena talked about, people don't realize it and i'm glad she's very vocal about that. >> people don't realize that you sometimes do have to pick motherhood over athletics. >> the greatest thing in my life is being a mother, and the gift of being able to have children and steward them into this world is something that i would never give up. and then i put myself in serena's shoes who is quite obviously still hungry, still loves the game, and she also wants to grow her family. that really pulled on my heartstrings because it's a decision that all working moms have to make. >> totally different worlds between men and women, and, you know, it's not fair. nba players is what i look to the most as a basketball player, and it feels like they're just popping out babies and they can play the next day. >> we know what it takes to be your best, and we know mentally, physically, and emotionally where you have to be. and it's almost like am i going to be a weaker competitor because i'm a mother now and i have something else that has totally taken priority in my life? >> she went back and forth in writing this essay. she wrote it, she deleted it. it was like a process for her getting there to really share with the world something that had clearly been on her heart for a number of years. >> i love that she's evolving away. she doesn't really want to stop playing tennis but her body is saying stop. she wants to have another child. >> she said in vogue olympia would love to have a little sister. >> there is no doubt that when serena met alexis ohannen and decided that she wanted to get married and have a daughter that her life changed. >> serena and alexis met in 2015. alexis was one of the cofounders of reddit. he's a venture capitalist. >> i think in the case of serena and alexis i think we can safely say opposites attract. >> how does a self-described unequivocal nerd end up with one of the greatest athletes in recorded history? how does that come about? it's not a natural match. >> you know, i would beg to differ on one hand because she's actually a total nerd indeed, and we actually met through random circumstance. >> when she met him everything started to change, how she wanted to do business because he is an entrepreneur in his own way, a successful one. how she wanted to get into tech because he was in tech, how she wanted to diversify her portfolio. >> you've got a promotion, that's fantastic. congratulations. >> so glad you finally had a good day today. >> it seemed like she found someone who totally understood her mentality, her mind-set. it made perfect sense to me. 2016 i meet u, 2017 we're engaged, i'm pregnant and having a baby. >> how funny is this? she is -- with my gatorade bottle. it's so funny. honey, that's mommy's. >> i mean serena just literally attacked the concept and the role of being a working mom, and i say that attacked in a good way. >> i think being a mom is something incredibly special, and i've embarked on a really good journey, and it's probably the best journey of my life, and i love it so much. >> she's become an entirely different person from the time we first met her on a tennis court. >> venus and serena williams grew up in compton, california. compton, california, probably came to more of a mainstream prominence because of a group called nwa. ♪ it was an area that also was, you know, riddled with gang violence and street violence and just kind of a rougher place to grow up. >> we came out of the ghetto. we came from compton, california. man, they were never -- that was tough. >> serena grew up very humble. it was her mother, it was her father, richard, it was her sister venus. but serena had several other sisters. >> i actually remember going to their house in compton and had an opportunity to meet all the sisters. the girls would come and watch venus and serena play. all five of the girls, there was just like a strength that they brought with each other. >> tennis was going to be the way out for his daughters, the way out of compton, california. >> there you go! >> tennis was -- essentially american tennis was a lily-white sport. >> people of color in tennis were really few and far between. >> before serena and venus williams there was gibson, rather arthur ashe. >> we broke a lot of barriers people expected to see. and it wasn't out of the norm anymore. >> venus and serena knowingly or unknowingly came into tennis as they are, black young girls playing tennis in this young white world. >> i think both wanted their daughters to be prepared for what they were going to face. >> their father had a very strange way of letting them know that racism does exist. richard williams would pay other kids to call serena and venus names while they were practicing on the tennis courts in compton. if you can concentrate and focus and play tennis while these kids are calling you the n-word, then you got it. he felt like if he could teach his daughters that this white world of tennis is not your friend and if you can thrive in this world under all circumstances given the worst and the best, you can do anything in life. >> she's a great player, and she's number one now. and she's only 16. she's the youngest number one, so i want to make a record just like she did. >> many people started to hear about the williams sisters. venus was the one we are focusing on. >> richard was like you've seen what i've done with venus, watch this next one. >> they felt they needed to get another outside voice of professional coaching. they knew they took him as far as they could take him. they knew that they needed a little bit more. this is the sound of better breathing. fasenra is an add-on treatment for asthma driven by eosinophils. it helps prevent asthma attacks, improve breathing, and lower use of oral steroids. fasenra is not a rescue medication or for other eosinophilic conditions. fasenra may cause allergic reactions. get help right away if you have swelling of your face, mouth and tongue, or trouble breathing. don't stop your asthma treatments unless your doctor tells you to. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection or your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. ask your doctor about fasenra. 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(fisher investments) yep. we do better when our clients do better. at fisher investments, we're clearly different. is it me or does everyone auditioning for this health insurance commercial look the same? it's not you. health insurance companies see us all the same. that's not good. well, except humana. they see me. after my back surgery, humana sent a home health nurse for five days. helped me get set up, showed me how to manage my meds... ...even sent me a week's worth of healthy frozen meals. get out. good i-dea. better care begins with listening. humana. a more human way to healthcare. sadie? ♪take your hat off make yourself at home♪ ♪how about stay the night then strut on home♪ ♪day 1, i'm in love with your strut♪ ♪day 2, i'm in love with your strut♪ ♪day 3, i'm in love with your strut♪ ♪guess what, i'm in love with your strut♪ ♪i like your strut,♪ ♪do you wanna go struttin' struttin'♪ ♪you like my strut♪ ♪do you wanna go struttin' struttin'♪ ♪you like my strut♪ ♪then let's go struttin' right now♪ ♪ all of these people go to florida to play and learn and be among the greats because all you do is play tennis 24 hours a day, seven days a week. >> in 1991 the sisters and family all moved to south florida, which was a far cry from what their experience was in compton, california. >> moving to florida was huge for both of them. everything that was there for them to make them comfortable in training all day. >> you intimidate. that a girl. get up there. >> and do what they needed to do to get to the next level. but richard and oracene chose not to have their daughters play at junior tournaments, and that was unheard of. >> well, sometimes things can be so involved in ones life it becomes a primary and becomes a thing you worship. so the priority first will be to god and then family, and then everything else is secondary. >> richard and oracene i would say didn't want their kids to be pushed too hard on the courts. they wanted them to be diverse and to have other things and not just to be a tennis player. >> see, we're not looking for a ranking for serena and venus. i'm looking for a ranking in education. >> serena turned pro at 14. she won some matches and she lost. she won some matches and she lost. when you're 14 you don't really know everything yet. so to be kind of knocked down, you go back to the drawing board and say, well, wow, what can i do different? >> no one really thought serena was going to win a u.s. open. i don't even know if she believed it until it happened. and this is her very first u.s. open, and she was so composed. she was so ready for this moment, and the first thing she does is walk over to her family. and this embrace that she gives her mother and her sisters and the way venus is looking at her is arguably one of the most affectionate moments that i've seen in the sport. >> i'm the first actually black woman to win a major title since -- gibson and it's really great news. i'm doing well, and it's good news for the minorities and just a different group of people. it's great. >> this is the moment whether they realize it or not of a new era. tennis was brand new, and the people who were in charge, they were two little black girls from compton. >> you would expect that the nation would embrace her as the national champion and beloved and the sisters and the story line just got everything, but even as they're winning and winning the challenges are still there about trying to win over people, be accepted, be understood. >> indian wells is right outside of palm springs, considered one of the best tournaments in tennis. >> serena, she was supposed to play her sister venus in the previous round in the semis, and venus couldn't play and pulled out from the match. there was always this accusation that mr. williams would tell venus to win this match or serena to win this match, and that was never true. >> and the crowd thought this was kind of fixing by the family, they're deciding who was going to win. >> and there was one person who started the boos. >> it's an amazing sound here. >> and it just picked up like -- it picked up like wildfire. it spread across that entire stadium. >> a crescendo of boos for serena williams. >> and i think what's interesting is that the commentators felt it was unprecedented, and it was. >> and the crowd -- an american crowd booing an american family. and you have to say it does smack of a little bit of racism. >> you could see how sad serena was. again, she's still a kid. no matter how much preparation you get, no matter how many times your father has paid somebody to call you the n-word while you're practicing on the court, it's another thing when it's real life. >> unfortunately, this was just one of so many hostile environments that the sisters to play in, but they managed to reign supreme in spite of that. >> it's just a mental match more of a physical match. it was a little tough because one year before the reception wasn't so good, but, you know, if you're a champion you should be able to get through it. >> so indian wells was 2001, and, you know, shortly after 2002 all she did was become the number one player in the world. >> game set match. >> in 2002 she beat her sister at womeimbledon. she was on a winning streak that was undeniable. >>, you know, she won everything. the serena slam came from 2002, 2003. she held all four titles at the same time. >> i actually played her in 2002 sort of as she became and was continuing to become serena fully. i came up against her, played her first at wimbledon, and i remember coming up against her like what do i do? like, there's nowhere to go. i mean i can't outserve her. i can't outhit her. i'm playing pretty well, but i just got beat in every area. >> the oldest sister of serena and venus williams was shot and killed. >> during serena's really big winning streak between 2002 and 2003 venus and serena williams oldest sister yetunde was murdered in a drive-by shooting. >> the death, wow, got chills even talking about it. i can visually see it. i remember i personally was watching the television, and i saw the little clip come up that their sister had gotten shot. >> they were playing full time on the tour. it was an unbelievably pivotal moment in their lives. yetunde's death would have been hard for both serena and venus and the other sisters. >> i had to hesitate. i'm going to try not to cry, but the blessing to have sisters like that and to be so close and it's all because it started in that little house in compton. and i'm sorry to cry, but it's just that sisterly love was like no other, just -- >> serena wrote in her biography that she was slipping into a depression and it affected everything in her life. >> and serena took a break from tennis, mental break and a physical break. >> she took that break in 2006, and she actually fell outside the top 100 in the rankings, and people are really doubting her, wondering where she is, how she's doing. >> and she comes into the australian open and no one gives her a chance. and when she made it to the finals against sharapova it was like a serious beat down. i remember listening to the commentators, and they didn't have nothing to say because she wasn't missing a ball. that time probably played some of the best tennis she had played up until that point. >> serena actually dedicates that 2007 australian open win to her sister. >> and most of all i would like to dedicate this win to my sister who's not here, her name is yetunde, and i just love her so much. a couple days ago i said if i win this it's going to be for her, so thanks, yetunde. >> serena williams, ladies and gentlemen, 2007 australian open champion. >> it really kind of felt like serena was back. she was back. e it, it just confirms... this. is. fantastic. and only at panera. $0 delivery fee for a limited time. why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis under control? 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just seeing her on the oprah winfrey show. >> so how much longer do you think you'll be playing tennis in. >> i don't know. maybe until they take me out back and shoot me. >> i know. >> seen her on david letterman. >> i have the same outfit, by the way. >> the best serena williams appearance was actually in a beyonce video on the song "sorry" serena williams pops up twerking next to the throne of beyonce. i think i screamed when i saw it and i'm sure everyone else did, too. >> i think she gave license to a lot of women who were curvaceous to be curvaceous. there's this myth that women in sports have to play like a boy and dress like a boy and act like a boy, and serena's like, no, i'm a woman, and i'm going to go out there on my terms and dress the way i want and play the way i want and you're going to accept it. >> i think famously that black cat suit is probably going to be like a third or fourth sentence when we ultimately write like the serena williams biography and profile. it's like a black unitard like onsie, sexy, spandex thing with like a pink belt, you know, in the center of her waist. i don't know if i can say this on cnn but serena williams is a bad bitch, and she knows it. that was an iconic look. >> it was 2011 when she's obviously on top of the world. >> serena was attending the oscar party. >> your first time? >> no, i come here every year. >> and she was not feeling good and things were going downhill quickly. >> suffered a pulmonary el