"It's perfect for me" - Venus Williams on inheriting Serena Williams' racquet and the importance of choosing the right one

Venus Williams spoke about the importance of the right racquet and her change of racquets on her YouTube channel.

The 42-year-old is among the greatest female tennis players of all time and has enjoyed a stellar career that has spanned over two decades. Every tennis champion needs the right set of tools to be where they are and in Tennis, the right racquet is one of them.

Williams said that she had to change her racquet twice this summer. She switched from a Wilson Blade 104 to a Wilson Pro Staff that had a head size of 98. She claimed that while playing with the Pro Staff felt good in the beginning, things became difficult for her when she played in tournaments.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion claimed that she realized she did not have the skill or the time to figure out how to use her new racquet.

"I ended up changing my racquets twice actually this summer if you can imagine. So I went from a Blade 104 to trying a Pro Staff and that head size is about 98. It was a huge change for me. I've always played with a really large head size, either big or bigger or biggest, and so going to 98 was different but it actually felt really good in the beginning," the 42-year-old said.

"It felt like I had a lot more control and that my balls weren't flying, but as I entered competition, I kind of realized that it really took me too much out of my game and that when I was really ready to go for my shots, the ball wasn't going enough. I really didn't have the experience or the skill to figure out how to play with the racquet. Maybe given some time, but time is a commodity we want to use the best that we can and I didn't have the time to learn how to use that racquet," she added.

Venus Williams claimed that she reverted to the Blade 104 and customized it to the specifications of Serena Williams' racquet.

"So, I actually ended up switching back to the Blade 104 and switching to Serena's racquets, into her specs because our racquets start to be customized to exactly what we want, what we need. So we tweak them, add more weight in the head or in the handle, change the string pattern a little bit, and I end up really just inheriting her racquet and it's perfect for me. So I pretty much went back to what I was doing which is crazy but with different specs and those make a world of a difference," Venus said.

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"Complete self-honesty and self-reflection the only way to improve" - Venus Williams

Venus Williams in action at the Canadian Open

Venus Williams recently had a Q&A session with her fans on Instagram, during which she was asked about the biggest lesson tennis taught her. She responded by saying that self-honesty, self-reflection and self-belief was the only way to improve oneself.

"Complete self-honesty and self-reflection. It's the only way to improve. And to dig in deep and run through walls. To believe in yourself, even when you can't, or don't. Believe anyway. Know you are the ONE," Venus Williams wrote on the Instagram page of her fashion brand ElevenbyVenus.

The former World No. 1, who was last seen in action at the 2022 US Open, is set to play an exhibition match against Danielle Collins in Dallas in February next year.