Serena Williams Boycotted Indian Wells for 14 Years - Then the Same Crowd Gave Her a Standing Ovation

When Serena Williams walked toward the Indian Wells court in March 2015, she stopped in a bathroom backstage. She sat there, heart pounding, wondering if the crowd would boo her again. They didn't.

A Win That Felt Like a Loss

The 2001 Indian Wells final should have been a celebration. Serena, 19 years old, defeated Kim Clijsters in three sets to claim her second title at the tournament. But the crowd booed her throughout the match. Her father Richard Williams told USA Today afterward that spectators directed racial slurs at him from the stands while he watched. Serena cried the entire drive home. "I remember just getting in the car and I was just bawling," she said. "There was no celebration."

Fourteen Years Away

Serena and her sister Venus refused to return. For 14 years, the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells ran without the world's best player. In 2015, Serena wrote in Time magazine that she had been thinking about forgiveness. She described the experience as painful and chose to come back partly to speak publicly about race in America. "The undercurrent of racism was painful, confusing and unfair," she wrote. But she decided the time had come. Venus returned the following year.

The Moment She Walked Back Out

On March 13, 2015, Serena emerged from the tunnel for her second-round match against Monica Niculescu. The crowd rose immediately. The ovation lasted more than a minute. Serena started to cry. She later said it released "a lot of feelings I didn't even know I had." She went on to win the match 7-5, 7-5.

On Her Own Terms

Serena later said the 2015 return was the greatest moment of her career. She had waited until she was ready. She chose to come back - and the reception she received showed the crowd was ready to meet her there.