Mary Joe Fernandez on playing with Serena Williams in the BJK Cup: "I remember Serena being a riot, she had the best sense of humor"

In the latest episode of "The GOAT: Serena" podcast, hosts and former pros Chanda Rubin and Zina Garrison asked their guests to share their favorite memories with the tennis great.

Former World No. 4 Mary Joe Fernandez took a trip down memory lane to 1999, when she, alongside Monica Seles, Venus and Serena Williams, comprised the USA's Billie Jean King Cup (earlier Fed Cup) team. The USA took on Italy in an away tie, and Fernandez was able to develop a new perception of the Williams sisters during the trip.

Fernandez revealed how Serena Williams was a "riot" with her sense of humor and dinner-time jokes. She realized that the sisters were funny and amicable, unlike what their unsociable demeanor on the tour indicated.

"The first time I had some sort of relationship with them was when we played on the same Fed Cup team in Italy," Mary Joe Fernandez said. "It was Monica (Seles), Venus, Serena and me. I remember Serena specifically being a riot, best sense of humor, cracking jokes at dinner. Monica and I were looking at each other like 'Wow she's so funny!'"

"Everybody did their own thing, Venus and Serena had each other on the tour, but they didn't mingle with anybody else," Fernandez added. "So all of a sudden you saw their softer side and had this interaction which was amazing."

Mary Joe Fernandez and Serena Williams at the London Olympics

The 50-year-old also recalled a time from the trip when all the teammates sat down to play "pictionary" - a team game involving the identification of words through pictures and drawings. Fernandez said the game reflected the young Serena Williams' competitive spirit and her hunger to win.

"One of my favorite moments was playing pictionary," Fernandez said. "I was on her (Serena Williams') team; somehow, someway, she guessed what they were drawing, without really knowing what they were drawing. And she looked at me and was like, 'Just go along with whatever I say, we gotta win, we gotta win!'. And I was like 'Oh my gosh I cannot believe how competitive she is!'"

"When my son got sick, Serena Williams called to give him pep talks; that just showed she's a real good person" - Mary Joe Fernandez

Serena Williams at the 2021 French Open

Mary Joe Fernandez proceeded to talk about another incident from six years ago, when her son had to undergo surgery. Serena Williams called him at the time to give a "pep talk", and assured him that he would become "better than ever".

Fernandez was overwhelmed by Williams' gesture, and realized that the 23-time Slam champion has a "good heart".

"She has such a good heart," Fernandez said. "When my son got sick like six years ago and had to have this surgery, she called him before the surgery, gave him pep talks. You know, she didn't need to do that."

"I think his surgery was like at 7 am and she called at 6 am and was like, 'Don't you worry, you're gonna be better than ever'. It meant the world to me. Like it just showed to me that she's a real good person," she added.