“I hate to lose, but losing has brought me to here today. The only reason I am who I am is because of my losses. Some of them are extremely painful, but I wouldn’t take any of them away.”
— Serena Williams, TED Talk with Gayle King, TED2017 (2017)
Serena Williams stands as one of the most dominant athletes in tennis history, with 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her name. Yet when she sat down with Gayle King at TED2017, she chose to talk not about her victories, but about what defeat taught her.
This quote captures a truth that only someone at the pinnacle of their sport can fully articulate. Williams doesn’t romanticize losing or claim to embrace it in the moment. She’s honest: she hates it. But looking back across a career filled with both triumph and heartbreak, she recognizes that her losses carved out the competitor she became. The painful defeats, the ones that likely kept her awake at night and drove her back to the practice court, weren’t obstacles to her greatness. They were essential to it.
What makes these words particularly powerful is Williams’ refusal to wish away the painful moments. She wouldn’t take any of them away. This isn’t about finding silver linings or making peace with failure. It’s about understanding that the person who has never lost isn’t the same person who wins 23 Grand Slams. The losses didn’t just teach her how to win. They made her who she is.
