01x04 - The Deep End

[bunniefuu]

[commentator 1]

Here at Roland-Garros,

pressure on Williams now

to break Henin.

[grunts]

-And there it is!

-[crowd cheering and applauding]

Eight-time grand slam winner

Serena Williams

dismissed in the quarterfinals.

She certainly didn't seem to be herself.

[commentator 2]

Serena was just not Serena today.

[Serena] Tennis is grueling.

A lot of people only see Wimbledon,

-or they only see the U.S. Open.

-[bell tolling]

They don't see the hundreds of matches

that you play before to get to that.

And some you win, and some you lose,

but it's every single week.

-It's in and out.

-[tires squeal]

And somehow

you have to still be motivated

to play at your best.

[announcer 1] Ladies and gentlemen,

please welcome Serena Williams!

-[announcer 2] Serena Williams!

-[announcer 3] Serena Williams!

[Serena] It got really hard,

because being isolated

and being on the court

and then having to do

something so repetitive,

it's just the same thing in and out,

same routine every day

for years and years and years and years.

I wanna be good.

I wanna be great.

How do I get that?

[crowd cheering]

There was something that had to change.

It was about revamping.

Like, how do I do better?

How do I get more out of myself?

[commentator] I will only believe

Serena's out of this tournament

when I watch that plane leave

from the Melbourne airport.

[commentator 2]

She knows what it takes.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

[Serena] 2008, I'd been playing

for well over a decade.

Probably two decades.

It's a very long time to be playing.

You could see that

I wasn't myself on the court.

You could see that I'm just

I'm in anguish.

[commentator] The defending champ,

the three-time winner

of the Australian Open

out in the quarterfinals

in straight sets.

[Serena] There was something

that had to change.

Up to this point, my team had

really been a family business.

Venus and I always shared

hitting partners,

and at this point, I just needed my own.

I needed someone

that was gonna be 100% for me,

that was always gonna be there

if I needed to hit,

'cause I like to train a lot.

So, I needed to start working

on Team Serena.

All I know is Serena was looking

for a guy with no life.

[Serena] And so,

found Sascha in Germany.

He was just there coaching some kids.

Yeah, I was coaching

in an academy in Munich.

I got a phone call.

On a Saturday night,

I was out with friends.

I was having a drink or two,

and they asked me

if I wanted to practice

with Serena the next day.

So, I actually declined

because I knew that

if I practiced with her tomorrow,

she's never gonna practice with me again

because I'm not gonna be able to play

the way I need to play because

I was out partying, so

But luckily, they called back,

and I was, like, all right, whatever.

If I have to play with Serena Williams,

I will do it. I was like, if I must.

Obviously, I rushed back home,

dropped the party,

went with a bicycle to the courts.

We practiced four or five days,

and we somehow clicked.

We instantly meshed.

He was such a funny guy.

He was so young

when he first joined my team.

Basically I even left my bike.

I haven't picked up my bike.

It might be still

at the tennis club chained

if nobody stole it, to be honest.

But left with Serena.

And I remember her

trying to build a team.

[Serena] He was one of

the first people

that joined Team Serena.

Team Serena was small.

It started out with just Sascha,

then Team Serena was growing.

It's like a business.

[Esther Lee] Oh, gosh,

when I met Serena,

I remember she walked in.

She was reading this children's book

called Fablehaven, and I

was just working on her, and

And she just started asking me

all these personal questions.

[Serena] I was, like, whoa.

You're really good.

Put my book down, and I started

asking her questions.

I was like, "So, where are you from?

Where do you live?"

And I thought, oh, wow,

she's so friendly.

[Serena] "Oh, are you working?

Are you working full-time?

What do you think about tennis?

Have you ever traveled?"

As she kept going, I was, like,

oh, this kind of feels

like an interview. [laughs]

[Serena] It was not a job interview.

I was there to get treatment,

and then I was, like, wow,

this young lady is really special.

And at that point, I was thinking,

well, Esther needs to be on our team.

[Lee] And so she asked

on her second treatment, like,

"Would you want to travel

with, um, myself and Venus?"

You know, it was no question.

[laughs]

[engine roaring]

[Serena] I'm always about improving.

I love inviting people into my camp

that are different and work differently.

And then my mom tells me

about this guy Mackie.

So, we make a trip out of it.

We go to New Orleans,

and we meet Mackie.

Well, the toughest thing

for me to try and figure out

is what am I?

I've been called everything

from a nutritionist

to a physical therapist like Esther.

I've been called a trainer.

I'm none of that.

I'm in the field

of performance management.

It really started in 1985,

moving Michael Spinks,

who was the 1976 Olympic champion,

-up to heavyweight.

-[bell rings]

And when Michael Spinks defeated

reigning champion Larry Holmes,

my name got put all over the world.

[Serena] Mackie talks a lot.

-A lot.

-[Shilston] You come into my world,

I'mma put you in a DEXA scan

where I can see your bone, muscle,

and blood down to the gram.

I'm gonna have you taken apart

with a physical therapy

biomechanical analysis.

And then I'm gonna tell you

if you can survive three weeks

of me, you gon' be okay.

[Serena] I honestly don't think

I remember much

out of that first meeting except for,

"I like this guy.

I like this guy. We're gonna

have a lot of fun together."

Every few years,

I changed how I trained

to retrain my body to be better.

And Mackie was a part

of the next few years

where I'm interested to see

where he can take me.

You know, crazy Mackie.

Where we gonna go with this?

[grunts]

[Shilston] So, Serena

had a standout record,

but when I said, "Serena, I need

to see some type of video,

the best of Serena,"

and she looked at me,

and she said, "Mackie,

I don't have it to show to you."

I said, "Why?"

'Cause she says,

"I've never been at my best.

She says,

"Help me get back to number one."

I said, "Okay."

And so I don't approach anything

the normal way,

because my mindset is

if you keep doing it the same way,

you'll get the same outcome.

I loved that Mackie

worked with different athletes.

I mean, you look at boxers.

They have the best footwork

in all of sport.

And I believe that if you have

different elements

of different sport, you can

really bring 'em into your sport

and hone it and be the best at it.

[Shilston] Well, I'm a cog in a wheel.

I join a team.

My job was to take her apart.

Esther's job

was to put her back together.

Sascha's job

was to keep the ball in play.

[Bajin] When you work

with someone like Serena,

we've had a lot, a lot of long days.

[Serena] When I'm on the practice court,

I'm not gonna waste time

and just kind of

go through the motions.

Like, it was about perfecting

every single shot

to make it as perfect as I could.

[commentator] Oh, boy, that one,

round about chest high,

that was hammered, that forehand.

[Lee] She was just dominating

during that time,

and I felt like

she was this strong train

that was moving along,

and I just had to kind of

help it carry on.

It wasn't easy.

It was a lot of hard work.

But I felt like I just

had to keep that train going.

[crowd applauding]

[Bajin] When Team Serena was formed,

you know something good

is happening.

Like, you could feel that

these three, four people,

this core group

all pushing with the same goal,

what can't we achieve?

Ahhh! Come on!

[crowd cheering and applauding]

[Serena] We were such good friends.

Like, we just always hung out.

We would just always

have so much fun.

It was just, like,

such a good opportunity

just to just be yourself,

and that was really important

for me to have.

Ahhh! [laughs]

[Serena] And I felt like

I was really, really improving.

[commentator] Serena's trying

to declare herself once again

as the number one player in the world.

It's been far too long.

[crowd cheers]

[grunting]

[commentator] Incredible game,

and now it's match point for Serena.

[grunts]

The 2008 U.S. Open champion

Serena Williams!

[cheering]

[Shilston] We just won number one,

and she calls me up,

and I said,

"Serena, number one was yesterday.

Don't tell me that you hit a home run

at your last at bat.

What are you gonna do for me now?

What's gonna happen

at your next at bat?"

Because the easiest thing in my book

is to win

the world heavyweight championship.

I've done it multiple times.

Toughest thing in the world is hold it.

[Serena] I was fanatical.

I was nuts about

"How do I stay number one?"

How do I stay the best?

[commentator] Serena Williams

looking for her 10th Grand Slam title.

[grunting]

[crowd gasps and applauds]

-[umpire] Out!

-[crowd cheering]

[Bajin] From 2008 to 2010,

she really did win a lot then.

She regained her status

after having a couple of moderate years

for her own capabilities.

[grunting]

[crowd gasps]

[grunts]

[commentator] She picks up

her third Wimbledon title.

[Bajin] I didn't wanna blink

because I was afraid

I'm gonna miss something.

Even she can be down,

and I still don't wanna believe it.

I still wanna put my money on Serena.

[commentator]

Henin is firing everything at her.

[umpire shouts indistinctly]

[commentator]

Williams frazzled at the moment.

[Serena] Australian Open 2010,

was in the third set.

I think I'd lost the first game

or whatever.

And this guy was like,

"Serena, you can beat Serena.

She's not all that good."

[man in crowd shouting indistinctly]

[Serena] So, when that guy yells that,

I'm thinking to myself,

first of all, like, seriously?

I'm not good? Okay.

We all know that's not true.

And I looked at the guy,

and I thought [scoffs]

okay, I'm gonna show you what good is.

[commentator] Biggest point

of the finals right here.

[Serena] Part of me likes to be doubted.

I think I need that someone

to say something,

and it just fires me up,

but I'm, like, okay,

I'm gonna prove you wrong.

I kinda like it.

[commentator] Yes, sir.

What a competitor.

Oh, yeah, that's

the biggest mistake you can do

is you poke the sleeping bear.

[umpire] Game, Williams.

[Bajin] You could see

that there was a reset in her,

and she's just refusing to lose.

She's just determined

to prove this person wrong.

[commentator]

Serena Williams will be serving

for her fifth Australian Open crown.

[umpire] Game, set, match, Williams.

[commentator]

Another fighting performance.

Another performance

where she's been down at times,

but she's never out,

and that's why she is a champion.

[Bajin] I've had

these situations with her

throughout her career,

and it's just a display

of her really refusing to accept

that the other girl

might be better that day.

[Serena] That's just my personality.

It's just this piece of my brain

that turns on,

and it clicks and just makes

this insane individual

that just doesn't stop.

[commentator] Three champions points

for Serena Williams.

[crowd cheering]

She's the champion again!

Number 13, a lucky number

for Serena Williams.

[crowd continues cheering]

[Serena] So,

after I won Wimbledon,

I was really, really focused.

And I was super excited

for hardcourt season

with the goal of winning

the U.S. Open in 2010.

But I stayed in Europe because

I had an exhibition to play.

And I go to this bar in Germany.

And I was at the bar,

and this guy, like, kind of like

shoved me or whatever,

and I'm thinking, dude, like, chill.

And next thing I know, I felt

something warm on my foot.

And then I'm leaving,

and take, like, a step,

and I step on some glass.

[glass shatters]

Everything happened

just so fast,

like, her limping and then

saying something like, "Ahhh."

Then I looked down,

and there was a puddle of blood.

I had one cut

on my right foot on top.

That's when I felt the warm.

Like, I didn't feel anything.

I just felt like my foot

was warm. I don't

To this day,

I don't know what happened.

And then on my other foot,

I had, like, a whole giant cut

on the bottom.

So, it was on both of my feet.

I felt so bad and guilty

because I feel like I'm responsible

'cause she was in my city.

Um, I remember right after,

calling an ambulance.

[Serena] This is where

it gets a little fuzzy for me,

'cause I lost so much blood.

I remember getting in an ambulance,

and then that's all I remember.

Blacked out.

I didn't know how bad my injury was.

All the doctors were saying that it was,

"Oh, it's just a tear,"

even though my foot,

even though my toe's not moving.

And I'm telling 'em, I said,

"You know my toe is not moving.

I can't move my toe."

And they're like, "No, you know,

it's fine. It'll come back."

So, I didn't think it was that bad.

And so I went to a doctor in L.A.,

and he fixed it.

But it didn't work. It re-tore.

So, after the first surgery didn't work,

the doctors were saying,

"You don't have to fix it.

You can play for another

30 years if you want.

It's not gonna affect your career."

I said, "Well, will it affect my life?"

And they're like,

"You'll just never be able

to move your big toe.

So, do you want to live

with a limp toe?" [laughs]

Or Or what?

And so they told me just to,

"Live life for three days.

Do things that you would

normally do

and see how you feel."

So I said, "Okay. I tried to do things,

everything that I would

normally do,

I did in three days."

I tried to wear heels.

What was that experience

of putting on shoes?

And then I rode my bike, and I fell.

[bicycle crashes]

Skinned my face. I still have, like,

this awful mark on my face.

I skinned my shoulder,

which is a disaster.

It was like this. I hate this.

I don't wanna live the rest of my life

not being able to move my toe.

Like, I love tennis,

and I love my career,

and I love that I could train right now

and come back and play.

I really do, but I don't wanna

live the rest of my life

regretting that

I didn't get that surgery.

So, I ended up

getting a second surgery.

The second surgery, that was hard.

And the doctor fixed it.

My toe can move,

but he said,

"This is gonna be a long road."

And I was like, [hesitantly] "Okay."

[reporter 1] Serena Williams

out for the U.S. Open,

a medical foot fault.

It will be Williams' first major miss

since the '06 Wimbledon.

[reporter 2] This is what Serena

had to say in a statement.

"Not being able to be part

of this year's U.S. Open

is one of the most devastating

moments of my career."

[Lee] When you're

going through injuries,

that's when you really

have to take it day by day,

because especially as an elite athlete,

they don't have patience

when it comes to injury,

and they just wanna get back on court.

They just wanna get back training.

But recovery from surgery takes time.

[fireworks popping and whistling]

[Serena] 2011, my foot was doing better.

Clearly, this surgery is gonna work,

so I'm still getting therapy on it.

I go to L.A. during the All Star weekend

'cause I always throw

this party every year.

I'm walking in the airport with Esther,

and she's like,

"Why are you breathing so hard?"

And I'm like,

"I know I'm out of shape."

[laughs]

Like, I'm out of shape. It's okay.

But when I'm telling her this,

I can't walk.

So, I have to literally stop,

and I have to talk to her.

Like, look, this is crazy.

She's, like,

"I don't know what's wrong."

Like, you know, she showed me her leg,

and from the knee down,

it was so swollen.

Prior to me working with her,

she had mentioned

that she had a blood clot

from a knee surgery.

And somehow that just

kind of came into my mind

that she had a history of a blood clot,

and I was like, this kind of looks like

she has a blood clot.

So, I was telling her, like, you know,

"We should go to the ER.

We just gotta check and make sure."

Esther, like, insists

Insists that I go.

So, I'm going to Cedars

in L.A.,

and every test they take is negative.

Like, there's nothing wrong with me.

Like, I'm fine.

I'm, like, "See, Esther?

Like, there's nothing wrong with me.

I can go home."

[Lee] They come back,

and they're, like,

"There's no blood clot.

Like, she's good. She's clear."

And, you know,

meanwhile Serena's laying in there

'cause it's taking forever

to do all these tests,

and she's, like, "I hate you, Esther.

I hate you. Like, I gotta go.

I got, you know, places to go."

I have a house party

in another 90 minutes.

I'm hosting this event.

I remember talking to one of the nurses,

and I was, like, you know,

"You can't

You can't release her

because she can't breathe."

And I kept pushing it.

Like, you know, you need

to thoroughly examine."

So, they decided to do a CT scan.

Immediately, they found that

she had multiple

blood clots in her lungs.

[Serena] So what the doctors

discovered with the very last

test was that I, um,

had a pulmonary embolism

bilaterally, so in both lungs.

It was just a matter of hours

at this point

if I didn't get this treated

that I would just black out

and never wake up.

[Lee] Usually a blood clot

will develop in the leg or the pelvis,

and because it's in your blood system,

it can get dislodged.

And it just travels through

your circulatory system,

and it'll go through the heart,

go through the lungs.

And a pulmonary embolism

is when that blood clot is released

and then kind of blocks out

the arteries in your lung,

and you can die, like, instantly.

And so it was so quick,

like, went to the ICU,

and immediately they came

to pick her up for surgery.

[monitor beeping steadily]

[ticking]

After surgery,

she was monitored,

put on blood thinners.

[beeps]

[Serena] It was a really hard time.

Here I go from winning,

you know, Australia,

winning Wimbledon [sighs]

And then I'm ready

to win the Open,

and then now I'm literally

on my deathbed.

I was really scared.

Here you are thinking that,

oh, I wanna win the Open,

and now I started thinking, oh,

I just I wanna live.

That was literally my thought.

It went from winning the Open

to just wanting to live.

I didn't wanna do anything else.

Actually, I didn't even

wanna play tennis.

I was, like,

I don't care about anything.

I just wanna, like

I just wanna be able

to survive, you know.

You never think about death

when you're living

because you just don't think about it.

And then you're there,

and it's just, like,

who cares about winning

Grand Slams, you know?

Who cares about winning

the U.S. Open or Wimbledon?

Like, this is

My life is so much more important.

Like, I just would rather be alive.

[Bajin] That year that she had,

it just kept going from bad luck

to bad luck to bad luck.

And I felt like because

everything that happened in Munich,

I feel like I've

I've started a snowball effect on her

which she can't get out of.

[reporter] It happened just a few days

after she won Wimbledon.

Serena Williams cut her foot

on broken glass.

Serena then suffered

life-threatening blood clots

in her lungs.

She simply called it the disaster.

[Serena] I had to give myself

injections every day

to thin my blood to make sure

the blood clot would stay gone.

The worst part is pricking.

Like, once you get over

the prick, you're good.

And I'm injecting in the stomach,

and, like, my stomach,

like, starts to get

a little circle on it.

And I'm, like, what's happening?

And every day it gets bigger

and bigger and bigger,

and it's, like, now I have, like,

this little ball on my stomach.

So I go to the doctor,

and I guess I injected,

and I hit a blood vessel,

which the doctor says

is like one in a billion.

They're, like,

"Yeah, you have, like, a hematoma.

"We have to surgically drain it."

And I'm, like,

"You gotta be kidding me."

I ended up back in the hospital,

and then they put this drain on me,

which I named Grover.

And this drain is in me

for, like, a week

to, like, drain out this hematoma.

And at that point,

I was, like, that's it.

Like, I can't do any more of this.

Like, one thing after another

after another.

[Lee] It felt like a marathon

because for her, she was just, like,

"Ugh! what now?"

And that was kind of one of,

I think,

one of the lowest points

I've seen her at.

I think she kind of hit rock bottom.

You know,

she just felt like she was helpless.

Like, "Why do all these things

keep happening?"

And And I just

I just sat with her,

and I, like, prayed with her.

And I said, you know,

God doesn't give you

more than you can handle.

[Serena] She's, like,

"You need to pray.

Like, if you've had enough,

you need to pray

and say, 'God, I cannot handle

any more.

You said you'll never give me

more than what I can handle,

and I can't handle any more.'"

And that meant so much

to me because

[voice breaking] I was, like, I can't.

I literally can't take any more.

Like, how much more, like

I don't think I'm able

to take any more right now.

I need a break.

And I remember just praying

and saying, "Jehovah, I can't

Like, I just need help."

And then things

turned around from there.

Like, I just

Things started to finally get better,

and I really was grateful for Esther

just taking me aside

and just bringing me back

to what I needed to hear.

-[Lee] Hi, Dr. Dreesen.

-[Serena] It's Serena and Esther.

[Dr. Dreesen]

How are you guys doing?

Fantastic, fantastic news.

Your chest CT scan

shows absolutely nothing.

I am hereby officially

certifying you all good.

-[Lee] Wow.

-Oh, thank God.

[Lee] Congrats.

[Dr. Dreesen] You are now clearl

okay to restart all training,

as much training as you possibly can.

You're good to go.

I'm alive. My foot's good.

Mackie, let's go. Sascha, let's go.

[Shilston] We were given the all clear,

but she came off the court,

and she came over to her chair

like I'm sitting in,

and just bent over and went [gasping]

[Serena] I didn't have

full function of my lungs.

When the embolism enters it,

it kills it, and it turns black.

So, a lot of my lung is just not there.

[whistle blows]

[Lee] Not only do you have now

a compromised ability to breathe,

she was also recovering

from the foot injury as well.

So, we had a lot of layers,

and as a world-class athlete,

you're starting here,

and you've got way so far to go.

[Serena] There is no secret sauce.

I wouldn't let anyone outwork me.

It's all about tennis,

and it's all about rehab.

That's kind of your whole life.

[Bajin] I really wish people could see

how much pain, how much struggling,

how much you have to be willing

to sacrifice everything

in order to just be

the best version of herself.

[Serena] Our saying

in our internal camp was,

from the hospital bed to the podium,

you just work hard and you work

and you work and you work.

Before I know it,

I was back on tour.

[reporter] Serena's back.

It has been almost

one full calendar year

since she played an official match.

[Serena] I wasn't gonna

not play Wimbledon.

I had to defend my title.

I already missed defending my title

in Australia,

and that's terrible.

You don't even get to play.

And so for me, it was, like,

okay, well, I can at least try.

[grunting]

[Bajin] The fact that

she was willing to go out there,

knowing that maybe

she should have taken

another month or two,

but it's Wimbledon, and it's Serena.

And I'll tell you now,

as long as this woman

can walk and breathe

and hold a racket,

I think she should go to Wimbledon.

[grunting]

[crowd cheering and applauding]

There's one thing to practice,

but it's a whole different level

to compete.

You don't know

if you're coming back too soon.

[audience gasps]

[commentator] Oh!

[Lee] It was very nerve-racking,

but with her, she's just got

so much mental determination,

and you can't compare that

to anybody else,

honestly with anyone

I've ever worked with.

[grunting]

[commentator] Well played.

But it is a game of survival,

not of the fittest,

but of the emotionally, and physically,

and mentally strong.

[commentator] Three match points

now for the champ.

[grunts]

[umpire] Game, Williams.

[Serena] I was so overwhelmed,

'cause I'd suppressed

so much of these feelings

'cause I always felt like

I had to be strong,

and I couldn't be open.

[reporter] Well, Serena, we can see here

what this win means to you,

an emotional day

after all you've been through recently.

Yeah, it's been

I usually don't cry,

so I don't understand it,

but it's just been so hard.

I just wanted to win

at least one match here,

so, you know,

it was really a big win for me.

I can't believe I made it back

from the hospital bed to Wimbledon.

[grunting]

I think I definitely

rushed back into it.

Yeah, I rushed back to tennis a lot.

It's my safety net.

It's what I know.

It makes me feel the most comfortable.

[grunting]

-[umpire] Game, Ms. Bartoli.

-[crowd applauding]

But I played Marion Bartoli

in the fourth round,

and I literally

was seeing stars.

[commentator 1] Fabulous.

[commentator 2] Right down the middle.

[speaks indistinctly]

from Serena at all,

but it's that split step.

It's that reaction.

[Serena] I could not breathe.

I literally could not breathe.

[commentator 2] It's just not

at 100% yet for Serena.

[yells indistinctly]

I'm gonna pass out out here.

I'm gonna pass out.

[commentator 1]

It's match point number four.

[grunts]

[Serena] I was happy that match ended,

but I was also sad to lose my title.

And then I just plummeted.

[reporter] Do you know

who Tatjana Malek is?

Well, she happens to be

the 174th ranked

tennis player in the world,

one spot higher

than Serena Williams,

who was number one,

and due to injury and inactivity,

is now ranked 175th in the world.

[Serena] I had one goal

going into the U.S. Open,

and that was to be seeded.

And that's an impossible goal,

just for the record,

'cause I'd fell to, like, 175.

There's no player that's that low,

and in the next two months

be seeded at the next Grand Slam.

That just doesn't happen,

but that was my goal.

So, I called Mackie,

'cause after Wimbledon,

I knew things had to change.

I've never seen stars on a court.

Like, clearly I'm not functioning right.

[Shilston] I said, "Serena, look,

I'm gonna tell you the truth.

We got a little bit

of necrose tissue in there.

That's a little bit

of dead tissue in there."

And so I pulled a trick

out of Navy SEAL training.

I went and got a big bleach bottle

that had two handles.

And in the SEAL training,

you had to go out in the deep end,

you fill it with water.

It's heavy, and you couldn't

let it sink you.

And then you had

to put it over your head,

and you had to tread water

until the water ran out.

Mackie, like, he threw me

into our pool, my pool,

in the deep end. [laughs]

[Shilston] She says,

"What do I have to do?"

I said, "Take this bleach bottle,

fill it with water, and tread water."

"I have to do what?"

I said, "Fill it all the way

and kick, scream,

whatever you wanna do,"

and hold that up until it's empty."

I couldn't breathe, and he was, like,

"If you don't swim, you're gonna die."

And he wouldn't let me

get out of the pool.

And I'm, like,

"I wanna get out." [laughs]

He's, like, "You're not getting out.

You better swim."

And I'm, like, "I don't wanna

Like, I can't.

Like, I'm not able to breathe."

He's like, "You gotta figure it out

and work through it."

And it was horrible.

I hated every second of it.

[Shilston] Well, she's going out.

She's there.

She's kicking and she's bobbing,

gasping for air, gasping.

And that's a real important point.

Gasping for air.

And so finally she did it.

She swims over to the side of the pool,

and she says, "I did it!"

And I looked at her, and I said,

"Yeah, I didn't see it.

Let's do it again."

And she said, "What?"

I said, "Do it again."

When I saw her months before

coming off the court,

bending over and gasping

[gasping]

I said, "if I could make you

survive that feeling,"

when she got in the competition,

she would know, "I've got this."

It definitely brought a tenacity

that I knew

I've always had tenacity.

I've always been a fighter.

I've always had to

Nothing that I've ever gotten was free.

This was almost like,

"Serena, this is what you're good at.

This is like hearing

that voice in the crowd,

saying, "You're not good at this.

Like, this is what makes you Serena.

You work hard."

-[grunts]

-[crowd applauding]

[commentator]

That's just two more from Serena.

And you're not gonna forget

how much you had to fight

to get to the top of the mountain.

I was on the top

of the mountain, you know?

And I desperately wanted

to get back there.

[reporter] Serena Williams

has been absolutely on fire

the last couple of matches,

but she faces a tough task

today against Bartoli,

the woman who beat her at Wimbledon.

[grunting]

[Bajin] She just finds ways

to push into these dark corners

of herself

where not many people wanna go,

but that she tries to push further

than I think she even herself

thought she can.

[grunting]

-[commentator] There it is.

-[crowd cheering and applauding]

Serena Williams

back as the champion.

[reporter] We wondered after Wimbledon

how long would it be

before Serena Williams

would reach her peak.

Well, here she is in another final.

[Serena] Being in that pool is

like moments that I won't forget

'cause it symbolized survival

of my sport.

[grunting]

Survival of being out there

and outlasting or outplaying

or just being better.

Because if I can survive this,

everything else is gonna be easier.

[commentator] A couple weeks ago,

her ranking was outside

of the top hundred.

Well, if she wins this title today,

she'll get back in the top 30,

which means she would be seeded

at the U.S. Open.

[Serena] Surely being in the hospital

for that whole year

was gonna be harder

than anything else

I'm gonna face on the court.

But at the end, it was worth it

'cause I never saw stars again.

[grunting]

[commentator]

And the sweet satisfaction.

[Serena] I went from 175

in the world

to seeded

in a matter of a few weeks.

[Bajin] I feel like

she's never stopped

proving herself right,

and to go from 175

to try to be top 30

in two months

she did it.

She did it. [laughs]

[Serena] I feel like I'm close to

getting back to where I wanna be.

I'm still dealing

with all the pressures

of no matter what happens to me,

deathbed or not,

I'm everyone's favorite,

which is kind of weird,

'cause it's, like,

no, no, no, no.

You just try to play,

but you're still a favorite.

[reporter] Of course,

Serena's the favorite by far.

Uh, she's been

the player to beat.

[Bajin] When the draw comes out,

because we had our seed,

we had a couple of matches early

against lower-ranked players

where Serena

kind of found her groove,

found her way

into the tournament.

Physically, I'd have to say

she looked sharp.

[Lee] To see her build

her confidence back,

it just makes me, like,

in awe of her even more.

-[umpire shouts indistinctly]

-Come on!

[Serena] For the first time

in forever, I had fun,

like, genuinely having fun

at this point.

Because I shouldn't

have even been there.

It was crazy for me

'cause it was, like,

I never thought

I would play tennis again,

and then I never thought

that I would be winning

on that level again.

[grunting]

And I just had to let

all that go,

and I just had to play

and just be grateful

for the moment of being there

and also play

the way I know I can play.

[Bajin] Playing Caroline Wozniacki

in the semifinals

of the U.S. Open,

she was the number one player

in the world,

and she was

one of those players

that you don't wanna have

on the other side.

She was so agile.

She was moving so well.

She is a counter puncher.

But Serena, I'm sorry,

just destroyed in the semifinals.

[grunting]

[cheering]

[reporter] Describe the emotions

you're feeling right now

being back in a U.S. Open final.

[Serena] I mean, it's so great.

It's just been

such an arduous, long road.

And I can't believe I'm

I can't believe it.

I really can't.

[Shilston] Climbing up

and surviving the climb

with all your baggage,

the risk you have

is that you gave it all

mentally and physically.

Now you won,

and now you gotta go play

tomorrow for the championship

and refocus and come

right back in the battle.

And that's not easy to do.

[commentator] Serena Williams.

You heard from the hospital

back to the court

and to the final

of the U.S. Open.

[Bajin] Samantha Stosur,

she's always known

to be an amazing competitor,

but somehow to miss

the last edge

to close the matches out.

I think 99% thought Serena's

gonna take this easy.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

But very, very aggressive

tennis player.

She has

a really good kick serve.

She has a big forehand topspin.

She loves to come in to the net.

[commentator]

And that is the sort of tennis

that Sam Stosur can play

when she's playing well.

Even someone

like a Serena Williams

can have days

where it just doesn't go.

[umpire] Game.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

[commentator] Now three set points.

[grunting]

[crowd cheering and applauding]

[commentator] Stosur's taking it

to Serena in this match.

But she tries really everything

to fire herself up.

Come on!

[umpire speaks indistinctly]

[commentator] Serena screams out

"Not so fast."

[Serena] Come on!

[crowd cheering and applauding]

That "come on" in the second set

there at the U.S. Open finals

is a way to find her way

into the match.

[crowd cheering and applauding]

[Serena] I said,

"Come on" too loud,

and the umpire felt

that I intentionally tried

to distract my opponent.

I don't intentionally try

to distract anyone at anything,

but I got penalized for that.

Sadly, the rules state

that if you hit,

and you yell while hitting,

you lose the point.

Ladies and gentlemen,

hindrance was called

during the rally.

-Point goes to Stosur.

-[crowd shouting indistinctly]

[umpire] Game, Stosur.

[commentator] You could hear.

She clearly screamed

before the ball was hit.

That's a major point.

That "come on".

I know why she does it.

I know when she does it

in that moment.

Serena was just looking,

obviously, in that match

for something to get her going.

It's just unfortunate

'cause I know Serena

is not out there

trying to argue

just for the argument's sake.

Nobody likes to argue on purpose

because you do lose energy.

You do lose focus.

[grunts]

[Serena] I became

a little unsure of myself.

[grunts]

[commentator] I mean,

that's a shot she never misses.

[grunts]

[crowd cheering and applauding]

I was just thinking, like,

will this ever happen again?

Like, I didn't think it would.

[commentator] And Serena's back

is now officially to the wall.

[Serena] How can I ever win

another Grand Slam?

Like, I don't have the lungs

that everyone else has.

I don't have

I'm not working with

Like, it doesn't seem realistic,

And so in the back of your mind,

you'll say you believe it.

Saying it is one thing,

and believing it is another.

[grunts]

[screams]

[crowd cheering and applauding]

I began to doubt, like,

whether I could not win,

but just

kind of just show up.

[grunts]

[crowd cheering and applauding]

[Serena] And I think ultimately,

she outplayed me.

I could have played better,

but I didn't.

I didn't show up.

And that day maybe

wasn't supposed to be mine.

But honestly, a year prior,

I was in the hospital,

and then a few months prior,

I was

didn't even think about tennis

because I just wanted

to think about living.

[amplified voice]

Thank you, gentlemen,

for letting me get this far.

It's been an arduous road.

Six months ago in the hospital,

I never thought I would be

standing here today.

-And, um, I

-[crowd cheering and applauding]

I didn't think I'd be standing,

let alone here.

So, you know, thanks to my mom

and my sisters and my dad,

and, you know,

Sascha and Esther,

and, um, Mackie has been great

on my team,

and, um, everyone over in my box

that's been so supportive.

It's been unbelievable.

[Bajin] Looking back

at what we've accomplished

as Team Serena, after surgery,

after the embolism,

after climbing 150 spots

almost in two months,

after going to the finals

of a Grand Slam,

which is

It's ridiculous, that achievement.

There's not many people

in this world

who achieved that.

But not winning the U.S. Open,

even though we came a long way,

was a blow to our team.

But looking back,

even though we didn't feel

that way in that moment,

we've been part of something amazing.

[Serena] Team Serena really helped me

because they helped pick me up

and say, "Listen, the fact

that you're even in the final

of the U.S. Open when you

couldn't breathe at Wimbledon,

which was just a few weeks ago,

is huge.

You've won two tournaments

leading up to this.

You're on the right path.

You are going to win again.

You just have to understand

you're doing amazing."

[Lee] To see her

go from rock bottom

to, you know, the long trek

towards recovery,

I'm just so proud of her fight.

[Shilston] Serena has

the ultimate focus,

intent, and purpose,

and I hope she never loses it.

[Serena] I made a great run of it

considering everything,

so I can't be that upset.

I'm actually not really upset.

UmI'm lying.

I was very upset.

Who am I kidding? I hated it.

Should I have been upset? No.

Me being Serena Williams? Livid.

But that's just who I am.

I like to compete,

I like to win, and I like

to try to be the best.

And I expect perfection

out of myself,

which is my biggest strength

and my biggest weakness.