Romanian WTA player Sorana Cirstea recently opened up on the mental side of 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams‘ game, revealing how she thinks the American used to deliberately maintain cold behavior in front of her opponents in order to intimidate them.
Speaking on the La Fileu podcast, Cirstea said that Serena never spoke to her opponents before matches.
“Serena [Williams] used to intimidate me badly, she was trained to do this thing. To intimidate you in the locker room. First of all, Serena wouldn’t talk to anyone in the locker room, to any other player,” said Cirstea.
“We have a shared locker room. It’s a little weird at first, when you see someone on TV, and then you go play against them. In the locker room he wouldn’t talk to anyone and he had an aura that intimidated you,” the Romanian added.
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Sorana Cirstea explained how Serena Williams waited in the locker room only with her team members around
Before entering the tournament arena, players are usually asked to wait near the locker room area, before announcements are made and players are ushered in. The whole process takes at least five minutes in most big events.
“I’ll never forget, I was playing in the finals in Toronto in 2013. You have the tunnel that leads you to the arena. Normally, in the tunnel, until you are called, you have about 5 minutes, the moment they take you over, you go alone. The team goes to the other side and goes into the stands. Serena stayed with all the staff, always. I was alone there, small, and she was with the staff,” Cirstea explained.
“She was surrounded by many people. A trainer, sparring, trainer, physio, mother, sister, puppy, puppy groomer. They were laughing, joking, and making a bit of a joke. You enter the field, then she enters, cheering, delirious. In the warm-up, from the back, she gave the ball easily, at 2 km per hour. When it came to volleys, she gave you full power,” she added.
However, Cirstea also conceded that Serena was in fact an amazing player, especially at her peak.
“And when she [Serena Williams] was in her best form, Serena was the peak, she served extraordinary. She served a 200 kmph leisurely. I serve an average of 170, we are talking about serve 1. She was serving 190 consistently,” she said, adding “In her day, she was an extraordinary player. She knew when to hit the gas, he had power and impeccable technique. She was also smart in the game, knew when to press, when to let go. I haven’t played with her enough times to feel comfortable.”
What do you think? Did Serena deliberately remain cold to intimidate her opponents or was that a part of her personality? Let us know in the comments section below.
