My life is very well managed. I have a lot on my plate, and at the same time, there were still holes, and what I do and where I am dovetails nicely with what Agnieszka needs. I don't think I could be a coach for a Madison Keys because she needs somebody more hands-on. But Agnieszka is almost a finished product.
I tell you, if I was in the same position I was in 1975, trying to leave a communist country and trying to live a free life, America is not the country that I would think about going to considering how many rights the GOP is trying to take away.
I'm 58 years old. I got married for the first time - it's about time, right? Growing up as a gay woman, you just don't ever think about that, and then I thought, about 10 years ago, 'You know, I think within 10 years gay marriage will be legal.' And here we are, 10 years later, making it legal.
Just by being out you're doing your part. It's like recycling. You're doing your part for the environment if you recycle; you're doing your part for the gay movement if you're out.
I've a great family, two children to take care of. Then, of course, I do commentary for TV. I do speak about various women's issues around the world - like LGBT, motivational speeches. I have a lot on my plate right now. But eventually, yes, I would like to pass on the knowledge and something that I would like to do.
The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.
Russia is now very far from being a communist country, but when I walked around Moscow, I kept glimpsing these haunting images. There were statues of Lenin and some neon signs of the hammer and sickle. I remembered myself then as a little girl, living under that oppression.
So many athletes are afraid to use their platform to do the right thing and speak what they feel, and that's very depressing. Sure, they are afraid of insulting people and losing money because of it, and everyone wants to make the maximum amount of money in their lifetime. But at the expense of who you are? I don't know. That just wasn't in my DNA.
Julia, I promise to love you, to cherish you, in sickness and in health. No matter what, I will be there for you and our family. I promise not to make the social media another member of our family.
Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do just one thing well, you're needed by someone.
My mom told me to cover up my arms ever since I was little because I was muscular. She wanted me to be feminine, which did not come easy to me. My body was what it was, and I worked it to be a better tennis player.
Variety is what I would recommend: As variety is the spice of life in food, so it is in exercise. Change it up. But most of all, don't overdo it.
My worst memory is of my first dance lesson as a 14-year old in Prague. My mother put me in this silver and pink lame dress. My hair was all curled, and it was the first time I wore a garter belt. I felt so out of place!
Tennis is the purest form of democracy. There was a symbiotic, chicken-and-egg relationship for me between democracy and tennis.
I am healthy. I have been blessed with a very good body, and I have worked hard at it. I had surgery on my toe, and I'm still recovering from that. That's the only joint that was hurting. Earlier, I had a knee replacement, hip replacement, shoulder surgeries, but I have been lucky. I don't feel any pain when I play.
Playing tennis, I didn't tie in my self-worth into winning or losing matches.
The mark of great sportsmen is not how good they are at their best, but how good they are their worst.
The goal for the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation is to give kids an opportunity to be involved in sports and hopefully learn some lessons along the way. We want to put them in a safe environment, help them if they need it and maybe they will get a scholarship to a school because of the skills that they learn. Sport is just a starting point.
I didn't realize until I was doing commentary what a gladiator-like competition tennis is - other than no one dies. The crowd is waiting for the players to come, and they walk through the tunnel, and they get on the court, and they get out their rackets, their weapons, and now they start.
That's the media now. They get lazy. Rumors become fact. Some blogger says something, next thing you know, it's in 'USA Today.'
