“We must believe in the power of education. We must respect just laws. We must love ourselves, our old and or young, our women as well as our men.”
“I don't care who you are, you're going to choke in certain matches. You get to a point where your legs don't move and you can't take a deep breath. You start to hit the ball about a yard wide, instead of inches.”
“Martina's like the old Green Bay Packers. You know exactly what she's going to do, but there isn't a thing you can do about it.”
“If you're paid before you walk on the court, what's the point in playing as if your life depended on it?”
“Always have the situation under control, even if losing. Never betray an inward sense of defeat.”
“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.”
“Having grown up in a segregated environment in the south I know what it's like to be stepped on, I know what it's like also to see some black hero do well in the face of adversity.”
“I'm learning to use others' weaknesses. I don't hammer a man's soft spot constantly, because he may strengthen it. I just save it as a trump up my sleeve for moments when I really need a point.”
“I accepted the face that as much as I want to lead others, and love to be around other people, in some essential way, I am something of a loner.”
“When bright young minds can't afford college, America pays the price.”
“If I don't ask "Why me?" after my victories, I cannot ask "Why me?" after my setbacks and disasters.”
“Throughout my formal education I spent many, many hours in public and school libraries. Libraries became courts of last resort, as it were. The current definitive answer to almost any question can be found within the four walls of most libraries.”
“You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.”
“Let me put it this way: I think Republicans tend to keep the ball in play, Democrats go for broke.”
“Do not feel sorry for me if I am gone.”
“There's no better stage than the U.S. Open for me”
“I strongly believe the black culture spends too much time, energy and effort raising, praising, and teasing our black children about the dubious glories of professional sports.”
“A couple of times a day I sit quietly and visualize my body fighting the AIDS virus. It's the same as me sitting and seeing myself hit the perfect serve. I did that often when I was an athlete.”
“You learn about equality in history and civics, but you find out life is not really like that.”
“We must reach out our hand in friendship and dignity both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy.”
“It doesn't have to glitter to be gold.”
“I have become convinced that we blacks spend too much time on the playing field and too little time in libraries.”
“With what we give, we make a life.”
“I have always tried to be true to myself, to pick those battles I felt were important. My ultimate responsibility is to myself. I could never be anything else.”
“I guess I started too early because I just thought it was something fun to do.”
