Former American tennis star Chanda Rubin recently shared a heartfelt and candid memory from one of the most defining weeks of her career—one that involved a rare victory over the legendary Serena Williams and a moment of deep sportsmanship that has stayed with her ever since.
Chanda Rubin had the privilege of snapping Serena’s 21-match streak in 2002. She defeated Williams in a tightly contested three-set match 7-5 in the third. In her recollection during a recent podcast, Rubin highlighted not only the significance of the match itself but also what happened the very next day.
“That stands out as one of the highlights and, you know, winning that match and working through these tight moments. I remember after the match, Serena, she warmed me up the next day, because my coach, you know, like Serena, you know, they were like cooling off, right? But he's like, you know, she needs a warm up,” recalled Rubin with a laugh.
“And you get to the semis of a tournament, there's not a lot of bodies around you try to find somebody who may be working as a hitting partner back then, when we didn't have the money to travel with entourages, so you have to find bodies to hit with and in the area, or other players and so he's like, you know, Serena, can you warm up?” continued Rubin.
“And she warmed me up- which is unheard of,” she remembers fondly. “Most players would not do that after a loss, so I was so appreciative of it.
“And then after the warm up, she was just like “go win the tournament” I'm like- okay, so you know, you make a good point,” says Chanda Rubin with a laugh.
“I got to, you know, measure up here. And I ended up winning the tournament. And so it was, it was a lot of cool things that went into that week that was just part of a bit of a long road at that point in time. And, and I'm very much appreciative of it, you know yeah,” says Rubin as she affirms that this moment stands out as the most special moment of her career.
Rubin’s memory offers a glimpse into the quiet class of Serena Williams, often overshadowed by her on-court dominance and aura.
