“You have got to want to be the best before you can even begin to reach for that goal, and you have got to be prepared to sacrifice a lot to get there.”

When I was outed, it was like, That’s done.

Sports are a microcosm of society.

A girl didn’t get an athletic scholarship until the fall of 1972 for the very first time.

Champions take responsibility.

I will tell you King’s First Law of Recognition: You never get it when you want it, and then when it comes, you get too much.

In 1973, a woman could not get a credit card without her husband or father or a male signing off on it.

I always liked co-ed events best so we have two men and two women on each team.

Pressure is a privilege … it’s what you do with it that matters.

I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.

Some people do have softer boundaries.

It’s really impossible for athletes to grow up. On the one hand, you’re still a child, still playing a game. But on the other hand, you’re a superhuman hero that everyone dreams of being. No wonder we have such a hard time understanding who we are.

At 62 you want to keep moving; that’s important.

You do have to get players every year. You have to deal with calendar. You have to deal with all kinds of things in our sport, like every sport does.

I have a lot to say, and if I’m not No. 1, I can’t say it.

Every generation I think gets better usually [in tennis].

Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life.

Ambition is the great fire, it’s the liberator of the unconscious person. No goals, no growth; no clarity, no change.

True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement.

Become the leader of your life. Lead yourself to where you want to be. Breathe life back into your ambitions, your desires, your goals, your relationships.

If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

As soon as I hit the ball, I know if it’s in.

My goal should never be to raise kids that make me look good. (Oh but how my flesh craves this!) My goal should be to raise kids who love God and spend their lives making His goodness known in their corner of the world.

The goal is nothing other than the coherence and completeness of the system not only in respect of all details, but also in respect of all physicists of all places, all times, all peoples, and all cultures.