"Serena was the one player that I felt I could not beat; It was not just playing her, but also the moment" - Vania King explains the monumental challenge of facing Serena Williams

Vania King shed light on the magnitude of the challenge she faced while playing against Serena Williams on the WTA tour. King explained how facing the legendary American player was about dealing with the occasion as much as it was about trying to tame one of the strongest players of all time.

King played against Serena Williams twice in her singles career, both times at the US Open and at the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium. The former American player was able to win just seven games combined in both those matches against her compatriot.

King opened up about the experience during her appearance on a recent episode of the Tennis Channel podcast, admitting that the prospect of playing Williams at the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium with millions tuning in to watch got to her.

"I never played in that situation before, it was very different. Playing Serena on Ashe, prime-time, full stadium," Vania King said on the same.

She stated that she never believed she could beat Serena Williams due to the monumental task at hand.

"So it's super stressful. Serena was the one player that I felt I could not beat because I knew that it was not just playing her, she was an incredible player of course, but also the moment. I had to play the moment too. I had a nice threshold of 10,000 people but when we got to more than 10,000...Against Serena, you're talking 50/100+ broadcasting out so that was the hard part," King added.

In her first match against Williams at the 2014 US Open, King was able to win just one solitary game in a 6-1, 6-0 second-round loss. The duo faced off again in the second round of the 2016 US Open, with Williams recording a 6-3, 6-3 win on that occasion.

Two-time Grand Slam doubles champion King looked back at both those results and joked that she would be more than happy to erase the first of those matches from her memory.

"The first one I wouldn't mind erasing because I lost 0 and 1. The second one was 3 and 3, which was a respectable score. More importantly, if I lost 0 and 1 and I felt like I was competitive, I felt like I was being able to present myself and my game the way I wanted to, but I just didn't," King expressed.

"Her serve and the poise under pressure" - Vania King on what made Serena Williams better than any other player

2016 US Open - Day 4

Vania King highlighted the aspects of Serena Williams' game that made her stand out from the rest of the tour. King stated that while Williams' powerful game is the most talked about aspect, she explained how her serve and its effectiveness under pressure was the biggest weapon at her disposal.

"You know people think she had a lot of power, which she did, but for me what was so impressive was her serve and the poise under pressure with her serve. Really getting out of pressure situations in a way that guys can do because of the physical differences," King said on the same.

She also elaborated on Serena Williams' ability to turn defense into offense in quick time during rallies. A tactic that would be effective against every other player was not so against Williams, revealed King.

"On defense that was incredible, where you could pull her out wide and she could still hit the ball and put you in a difficult position. Whereas, that ball, against any other player, would sit up and float up high and give you time," the former Wimbledon and US Open doubles champion added.

Serena Williams faced fellow top-10 opponents 555 times throughout her career, winning 435 of those matches and producing a stunning 78% winning record. She is also one of just two players in history (the other being Steffi Graf) to have won all four Majors, the Olympic gold medal, and the year-end championships, at least once in her career.