Serena Williams has given Caitlin Clark high praise for how she handles the intense publicity onslaught.
Speaking to reporters at the TriBeCa Festival, where the documentary series “In the Arena: Serena Williams” premiered earlier this week, Williams, 42, was asked what advice she would give to Clark.
“I really like how she tries to keep her feet on the ground. She said she doesn’t look at social media. [media]” said Williams.
“I get it. I don’t mind. It’s so important that she keeps doing what she’s doing. No matter what other people do, if people are negative, it’s basically because you can’t do what you’re doing. I hope she keeps doing what she’s doing.”
Before being asked about Clark, Williams recalled the influx of negative attention he received when he was younger and in the spotlight.
“I was bullied,” Williams said, revealing that while she writes about it at length in her book, it’s not explored in detail in the documentary.
“What I had to go through, people now [what they did] “Back then.”
Clark, who wrapped up her college career in April and is effectively playing her second straight year as a WNBA rookie, has repeatedly taken the high road amid a storm of verbal and physical insults on and off the court.
In April, Williams, a 23-time tennis major champion, expressed interest in potentially owning a WNBA team in the future.
“We’re absolutely interested. If there’s the right market, we’re definitely very interested,” Williams told CNN.
The comments came on the heels of Clark and Iowa’s national championship loss to South Carolina, a game that drew an astounding 18.9 million viewers.
“We just needed the right catalyst and the right people, and I think that’s happened over the last two years. I think women’s sports is having the moment it should have… now is the time to elevate other sports, women’s soccer, women’s basketball,” Williams said.
