Serena Williams Tells Harper's Bazaar She 'Was Born To Do Tennis'

Story by

Carly Ledbetter

Mon, October 19, 2015 at 12:47 PM UTC

Tennis superstar Serena Williams already has 21 Grand Slams to her name, but now she can add one more accolade to her already impressive resume.

This year, Williams made the 2015 "Daring" list in Harper's Bazaar, which celebrates "incredible risk-taking, trailblazing women" like herself. Williams, who traded her tennis gear for a white Ralph Lauren jumpsuit, Louboutins and tennis racket/guitar, spoke about what "daring" means to her.

"Daring to me is taking a chance but not doing it blindly. A very calculated change," said Williams. "Think of amazing women like Sheryl Sandberg and Oprah Winfrey -- they’re daring, but they’re not jumping off a building without a parachute, you know?"

Williams, who recently broke her 33-match Grand Slam winning streak after a historic run, is not only "daring," she also the best at what she does: tennis. When asked if Williams was the best tennis player ever, Billie Jean King, one of the greatest players in the game, told The Huffington Post simply, "Yes. I think we all do." Williams would agree.

"Some people are born to do certain things, and I think I was born to do tennis," said Williams in Harper's Bazaar. "I definitely didn’t miss my calling!" And that just might be the greatest understatement of all time.

Be sure to pick up the November issue of Harper’s Bazaar when it hits newsstands Oct. 20.

Also on HuffPost:

Because she said this prior to speaking with a group of young women in Lagos, Nigeria on that same public service tour:

"We were able to break the [mold] and win a lot of grand slams and change the face of tennis ... when tennis was very dominated by white people. It doesn't matter what your background is and where you come from, if you have dreams and goals, that's all that matters."

Because even John McEnroe called her “the greatest player … that ever lived”

<a href="http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/13201089/hold-your-breath-waiting-serena-williams">High praise</a>&nbsp;from another great. — High praise from another great.

Because she’s just one major championship away from tying Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slam titles in female tennis history

Graf, center, has 22. Williams will look to match and eclipse that record next year.&nbsp; — Graf, center, has 22. Williams will look to match and eclipse that record next year.

Because she won the first of those Grand Slams when she was just 17, at the 1999 U.S. Open

After winning her first at age 17, she has collected 20 in the last 17 years.

Because she may or may not be dating Drake

And she <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/698930/drake-celebrates-the-opening-of-his-restaurant-and-serena-williams-was-there-too">may</a>&nbsp;or <a href="http://www.tmz.com/2015/08/24/drake-and-serena-williams-ill-have-the-tongue-restaurant-makeout-sesh/">may not</a>&nbsp;care who knows. Drake&nbsp;was seen cheering on Williams at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, pictured above, this year. — And she may or may not care who knows. Drake was seen cheering on Williams at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, pictured above, this year.

Because she once chose to practice her serve by hitting oranges, not tennis balls

<a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/08/serena-williams-still-has-tennis-history-to-make.html">According to New York Magazine</a>, her dad wasn't too pleased about that. — According to New York Magazine, her dad wasn't too pleased about that.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.