It’s no secret anymore that Serena Williams can serve curve balls when least expected. From winning the Australian Open in January 2017 in the early stages of her pregnancy to chronicling her pregnancy journey and the birth of her daughter through a creative video, the 35-year-old has been a veritable fount of surprises – of the good kind.

In a continuation of this, Williams recently came up with an innovative way to acknowledge her mother, Oracene Price’s contribution in her life. In an evocative post penned on the social networking website Reddit, the 23-time Grand Slam champion thanked her mother and called her a “role model” for helping her face the myriad challenges that came her way.

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Williams’s letter was an acknowledgement of the manner in which her mother had helped her cope and overcome hurtful statements about her physique.

“Dear Mom, you are one of the strongest women I know. I was looking at my daughter and she has my arms and legs! My exact same strong, muscular, powerful, sensational arms and body. I don’t know how I would react if she has to go through what I’ve gone through since I was a 15-year-old and even to this day.

I’ve been called a man because I appeared outwardly strong. It has been said that that I use drugs (No, I have always had far too much integrity to behave dishonestly in order to gain an advantage). It has been said I don’t belong in Women’s sports – that I belong in Men’s – because I look stronger than many other women do. (No, I just work hard and I was born with this body and proud of it).”   

Williams’s words, in a way, were a response to Maria Sharapova’s description of her rival in her autobiography Unstoppable. The 30-year-old Russian had mentioned that her first impression of the American as a teenager back during their first meeting at the Miami Open in 2004 was of someone having “thick arms and thick legs”. The five-time Grand Slam champion had also stated that Williams looked “intimidating and strong”. But the 35-year-old had a telling response:

“Mom, I’m not sure how you did not go off on every single reporter, person, announcer and quite frankly, hater, who was too ignorant to understand the power of a black woman.

I am proud we were able to show them what some women look like. We don’t all look the same. We are curvy, strong, muscular, tall, small, just to name a few, and all the same: we are women and proud!

You are so classy, I only wish I could take your lead. I am trying, though, and God is not done with me yet. I have a LONG way to go, but thank you.

Thank you for being the role model I needed to endure all the hardships that I now regard as a challenges – ones that I enjoy. I hope to teach my baby Alexis Olympia the same, and have the same fortitude you have had.

Promise me, Mom, that you will continue to help. I’m not sure if I am as meek and strong as you are yet. I hope to get there one day. I love you dearly.

Your youngest of five,

Serena

This is not the first time Williams has taken to Reddit, which was coincidentally founded by her fiance Alexis Ohanian, to make important personal announcements. It was on the website that she announced that she was engaged to Ohanin last year with a personal poem:

“I came home

A little late

Someone had a bag packed for me

And a carriage awaited

Destination: Rome

To escort me to my very own “charming”

Back to where our stars first collided

And now it was full circle

At the same table we first met by chance

This time he made it not by chance

But by choice

Down on one knee

He said 4 words

And

r/isaidyes”

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