I was about three years old when I started playing in Venezuela with my two older brothers. They're 12 and 11 years older, so I was always the little one.
I couldn't be accepted into tennis school because I was too young. I had to wait a year until I was four before they'd accept me.
The first tournament I ever played, I won. I was six years old.
It's so rewarding to succeed in what you like to do that you don't really think about what you have to give up.
This is just a 'Boom!' of energy for me to win a Grand Slam.
I prefer to be hunted compared to the other way around... I don't know how you say it.
When you're a kid and practice on clay, you're always, 'Oh, I wish I could win Roland Garros.'
I grew up, and my body was not like a Spanish player. I was tall. I had a powerful game; my arms were long, so I'm like, 'No, you can't play like Spanish players.'
I go for my shots with no regrets, even if I play to the fence.
There's no room for being disappointed or for excuses, 'Oh, I had four match points.'
I was like, 'Did I win Roland Garros? What happened?'
I didn't do anything special after the French Open, after winning the tournament. I just had a nice dinner with my team and family, but I was so exhausted that I went to sleep early and couldn't stay up.
I've said before that when you win, people think it's so easy, but it's not so easy to handle it, and probably I expect myself to always play so good.
After you win, people expect you to always play so good. When that doesn't happen, it's hard to deal with.
When you win, everything is so beautiful, and when you don't, it's not, so everything is darker.
I think people have this love-hate relationship with tennis. I also feel like that.
It is hard because I have played since I was three years old, and everything is tennis, tennis. I am super-passionate about it. And I love it. But I always like to cook, I listen to music. I just try to be like a regular girl.
Tennis is what I've always wanted to do, so it is my dream to be on top.
I learned that if you want something, you've got to really go for it, try to put the nerves aside.
New York is a very tricky city. I find it very noisy. It's a jungle, and it's very stressful at times, but I'm ready for it.
