Back in 2001 covering the US Open I was watching a match on the old Grandstand in the bleachers and ended up having a conversation with a girl sitting by me. She had come for the day with her tennis team at Hartwick College in upstate New York. The team took the three or four hour van ride, departing from Oneonta, NY at 5 am to see a day of Grand Slam tennis at Flushing Meadows.
I don’t remember the girl’s name but she did tell me that one of her teammates at Hartwick was named Serena Williams. I ended up doing a phone interview later with Serena Williams. As a freelancer for TENNIS Magazine back then, I suggested the story idea to my editor Bill Gray. Here is the short feature which made page 22 of the Sept. 2002 issue of TENNIS Magazine.
BEING SERENA WILLIAMS
A Brooklyn tennis player asks, What’s in a name?
Serena Williams had a difficult season last year. Her ground strokes were erratic. Her volleys lacked punch. And she had trouble running down drop shots. Oh, by the way, we’re talking about the Serena Williams of Division III Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, not that other Serena. Williams, 21, a sophomore nursing major from Brooklyn, plays sixth singles (though last season her record was a bench-warming 0-0).
Williams first realized she had a famous namesake when, as a high school freshman in 1996, she read a Sports Illustrated story on Richard and Oracene’s youngest daughter. She’s been a fan ever since.
But it wasn’t until she joined the Hartwick tennis team that she felt the pressure to live up to her name. “People say I’m just playing (tennis) because of my name. That bothers me,” she says. “Seeing how good Serena plays makes me want to play more.” Even her teammates get in on the act. “They don’t call me Serena. They call me Serena Williams altogether.”
Next up for Williams: the team’s annual van trip to US Open, where she hope to meet that other Serena. – Mark Scoop Malinowski
Brooklyn · Hartwick College · Oneonta NY · Serena Williams · US Open
Sam · October 9, 2025 at 8:59 pm
Glad you were finally able to dig this up from the vault, Scoop. 😊
Here is the short feature which made page 22 of the Sept. 2022 issue of TENNIS Magazine.
Should that maybe be 2002 instead of 2022? 🤔
Scoop Malinowski · October 9, 2025 at 10:06 pm
Thank you Sam my trusty editor. Wish I could remember the source’s name, all I remember is she wanted to be a veterinarian after college and she did become one actually. I posted this article on facebook and Richard Williams was the first to like it )
Sam · October 14, 2025 at 5:14 am
Thank you Sam my trusty editor.
No prob, Scoop. 🙂
and she did become one actually
Interesting. I did several Web searches, and usually you can find a veterinarian that way, but nothing actually came up for her. Do you know what city she’s currently practicing in?
I posted this article on facebook and Richard Williams was the first to like it
Wait—I thought he had a serious stroke and could barely even function these days? 🤔
Scoop Malinowski · October 14, 2025 at 8:37 am
Sam you are an editor? Please elaborate more… Somewhere up in that area, which I have never been to. But this was over a decade ago, not sure if she’s still doing it. No Richard Williams is pretty active on Facebook, he often posts random photos of Vee and Ree around the house or local in FL. He looks pretty fit too.
Sam · October 23, 2025 at 4:36 am
Sam you are an editor? Please elaborate more…
Scoop, I’ve done a little bit of paid copyediting work, but most of my work has actually been in the IT field. But I’ve always had a passion for editing—people I know have always asked me to proofread stuff for them. 😎
But this was over a decade ago, not sure if she’s still doing it.
Wish I could find out more.
As for Richard, he looked really dire in these photos:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6504823/Serena-Venus-Williams-Dad-Richard-hardly-speak-two-strokes-needs-son-interpret.html
So, was that all just an act, or did he have a long, steady recovery? 🧐
Scoop Malinowski · October 23, 2025 at 8:34 am
All I need to do is remember her name, maybe out of the blue it will come back like a zap out of nowhere… Richard Williams loved his McDonalds, hopefully he corrected that bad habit. He looks much healthier now like a possible vegan. He’s a brilliant guy and I would bet he figured out how important healthy diet and nutrition are and is properly preserving himself. Mike Tyson became a vegan and look how good he looks at 59 after all he put his body through.
Sam · November 2, 2025 at 5:02 am
All I need to do is remember her name, maybe out of the blue it will come back like a zap out of nowhere…
Oh, you mean (New York) Serena’s married name?
Richard Williams loved his McDonalds, hopefully he corrected that bad habit. He looks much healthier now like a possible vegan. He’s a brilliant guy and I would bet he figured out how important healthy diet and nutrition are and is properly preserving himself.
Actually, veganism is not a healthy diet. Now, vegetables are wonderful and extremely important, but humans also need animal products to thrive. Truth be told, many so-called vegetarians are really carb-etarians. Veganism is a lot better than McDonald’s, of course, but that really isn’t saying much. 🤡
He’s a brilliant guy and I would bet he figured out how important healthy diet and nutrition are and is properly preserving himself.
It just all seems kind of strange—he supposedly had a serious stroke and now he looks great? 🤔 Yes, that was many years ago, but something still seems off to me.
Scoop Malinowski · November 2, 2025 at 8:02 am
I know a couple of vegans Sam and they are strict advocates but they don’t look so healthy as one might expect. I agree, need some meat sometimes. Lions and tigers do all right with their diet )