"Being Serena—she doesn’t just wake up and she’s Serena. Every single day there's a purpose for the training, there’s an objective for the fitness—and she’s so much more than the tennis."

Serena Williams’ hitting partner Jarmere Jenkins joins the TENNIS.com Podcast’s Nina Pantic and Irina Falconi to dish on all things Serena. Jenkins, a former world No. 190 and multiple national champion for the University of Virginia, joined Team Serena in late 2017. 

He shares what day-to-day life with Serena is like (01:13), and explains how he got got the job—his older brother Jermaine was on Team Venus (02:48). Jenkins’ first-ever practice with Serena was captured on camera for the docuseries, Being Serena (07:20). 

Was the 23-time Grand Slam champion all what he expected she’d be (10:08)? The 37-year-old surprised him with her laid-back personality and tendency to break out into dance during practice (12:32). 

The 28-year-old also talks about his own pro dreams (14:15) and his struggles going from a homeschooling upbringing to being part of a college campus lifestyle (15:47). 

Back to Serena—Jenkins describes what life was like traveling the world with his brother and both Williams sisters (19:47), his favorite moment from the 2018 season (20:38) and off-court life with Serena, including taking part in Spartan Races with the Kryptonians (24:11).