To thine own self be true.
Of all the truly iconic athletes I've watched throughout my 39 years as a sports writer, none may more perfectly mirror those words from Shakespeare's Hamlet than retiring tennis star Serena Williams.
You can loathe her or love her, but you can't change her. She's not going to bend to your wishes. She's going to wear her beliefs and her emotions on her sleeve for all to see. For 27 years she has given the world as remarkable an example of self-confidence, courage, pride and individuality as we've ever seen in a world-class athlete.
The one and only Mohammad Ali might have reasonably eclipsed her in those areas. The recently deceased Bill Russell might equal her, but no other athlete has seemed so refreshingly determined to live life on their terms and their terms only. Sometimes talent, especially talent as rare as hers, has its privilege.
And now she's saying goodbye at this U.S. Open, or more accurately at the close of her stay there, however long or short that turns out to be. Less than a month from turning 41, she next faces the second-seeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in Wednesday's second round, and given Serena's recent struggles and Kontaveit's seeding, her remarkable career could easily end before the weekend.
But this is also Serena, who looks a bit more fit than at any time since her five-year-old daughter Olympia was born. If she's anywhere near her best, she can easily knock out Kontaveit. And with each fresh victory in this Open, Williams not only figures to gain confidence and momentum, but is also likely to unnerve her opponents, who, deep down, know that facing a Serena on the uptick all but assures their time is up.
It's not unlike Tiger Woods in his prime, when as soon as he charged, the field almost always retreated, incapable of matching his will and his talent.
This isn't the only reason to salute Williams in this final chapter of her competitive athletic career as she strives for a record 24th Grand Slam singles crown. Coming from highly underprivileged, underserved Compton, California, she and sister Venus proved every much as Tiger that a Black athlete could dominate a sport historically ruled by well-to-do white folk.
Could the sisters have been less demonstrative and exuberant in victory? Possibly. But why should they have? Those they rubbed the wrong way were never in their corner to begin with. One demeanor doesn't fit all. Nor should it.
Instead, let us salute Serena and Venus for giving young Black girls and women hope that if the Williams sisters could escape the crime and poverty of Compton to rule the tennis world, they could do magical things, too, whether it be in the arts, business, medicine, fashion or education. There's a way out if you're willing to believe in yourself and put in the work.
A single example of Serena's genius beyond the tennis court from Monday night: She wore a sequined black outfit that was inspired by figure skating attire. The fluffy black skirt originally had six thin layers -- one for each of her six U.S. Open singles titles.
She later admitted to shedding three of the layers due to the heat. But the mere fact she designed such an outfit was another example that she's never only been the world's best tennis player, spending an outrageous 319 weeks total at No. 1. She's a talent in many areas, as people as gifted as her often prove when given the chance.
The contents of the September issue of Vogue revealed Serena's impending retirement in her own words -- even as she admitted she hates the word retirement.
Looking back on the career she's about to leave behind as well as the one she's about to enter -- including hoping to make a big sister of Olympia -- she writes: "I want to be great. I want to be perfect. I know perfect doesn't exist, but whatever my perfect was, I never wanted to stop until I got it right. To me that's kind of the essence of being Serena: expecting the best from myself and proving people wrong. My sister Venus once said that when someone out there says you can't do something, it is because they can't do it. But I did do it. And so can you."
That's how you shatter stereotypes regarding race, access and marketability. That's how to be true to yourself.
And for those who don't think she can win No. 24, there are these words spoken by the great Chris Evert during Monday night's Open-opening win over Danka Kovinic: "This is the best I've seen her play in five years."
For those with short memories, five years ago, while two months pregnant with Olympia, Williams won the Australian Open. Never say never when it's Serena.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.