“I want my tennis to speak for everything.”

I want to be different. If everyone is wearing black, I want to be wearing red.

When you start from nothing, when you come from nothing, it makes you hungry. I am proud of where I came from and I know what I want. I want to win.

I heard endless conversations between my parents when I was going to sleep about how we would survive, how we would continue. All of them were about trying to make me better.

I’m done growing. I only grow when I put my high heels on now.

I try not to hit a swing volley and run back. So my swing volley is kind of that transition to the net. It’s been one of my favorite shots ever since I was young.

I help design my own tennis clothes.

Ever since I was young I loved making things and being part of the design process.

When I make a commitment I stick to it.

When I make commitments I like to stick to them, especially when I’m giving back to kids. Just giving them an example of what they can achieve. I love giving back to kids. It’s fantastic.

The more matches I play, the more confident I get.

As someone who spends a lot of her time on the road, you have to look stylish but comfortable as I’m always in motion. Either traveling for my job, for pleasure, or managing the hectic pace of the modern day.

I have a Russian heart.

You control your own wins and losses.

There are so many roads you can take that will lead you the wrong way, that nobody will hear your name.

If I’m nervous, it means I had to work hard to get there, whether it’s playing in a tournament or speaking at an event. So I try to stop and be proud of getting to live in that moment.

I have had lots of luck in my career but there has also been a lot of hard work.

People think I’m more wild than I am. I like going to theme parks, play sports or just hanging out with my friends.

I’ve always put great emphasis on the academics and getting your degree. It’s important because basketball is short term. The long term is what are you gonna do after college and after you no longer can bounce the ball.

If you want to be in the game you better shoot 75% from the line.

I won 1,098 games, and eight national championships, and coached in four different decades. But what I see are not the numbers. I see their faces.

I’ve always made weird sounds with my mouth. I’ve always been fascinated by the sound design, what you can do with your mouth. I was the kid dancing around in third grade on the basketball court. While everyone would be playing sports, I would be jumping around.

Olympics for me is love, peace, united.

Christianity is not a spectator sport. It’s something in which we become totally involved.

I didn’t go to normal children school. I went to sports school when I was 8. So I studied martial arts.