Venus surprised at the number of women deserting sports because of lack of confidence

Tennis icon Venus Williams recently expressed dismay when she learned about the high number of sportswomen who are forced to abandon their craft because of body confidence.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion has enjoyed a long playing career, outlasting not just her sister Serena but multiple generations of tennis players. She turned professional back in 1994 when she was only 14 and is determined to play the 31st season of her career in 2024.

In an interview on American weekly magazine People.com, the veteran star was made aware of a distressing statistic that at least 45% of women athletes quit sports because of low body confidence. Williams, however, gave some nuggets of wisdom for those struggling with the issue.

She explained that having confidence in oneself is key to shifting one's focus. Venus spoke through her own experience, having never been self-conscious of her body because she was too busy dedicating her time to improving in tennis.

"I had no idea some of the statistics of girls dropping out of sports. Forty-five percent of girls globally — because of body confidence issues — drop out (of sports) before the age of 14. I didn't think those numbers existed anymore. So hearing that was very sobering."

The former World No. 1 later asserted how sports has helped her elevate her confidence to unimaginable levels, not just from a playing perspective. Venus explained how the thrill of achieving success is incomparable to anything else.

"I know what sports (have) done for me, not only for a career, let's not even talk about that, but for feeling confident. When you score a goal, when you achieve something, when you put the work in and you get there, there's no feeling like it."

The 43-year-old is currently on an injury hiatus but revealed that she intends to return to competition at next month's Sunshine Swing. Venus has not played competitively since losing in the first round of the 2023 US Open last August.