Serena Williams blasts Caitlin Clark haters, lends support during tough rookie season

Not many athletes can relate to Caitlin Clark's pressure during her rookie season. The list isn't long, but it's filled with some of the greatest athletes we have ever seen—athletes like Serena Williams.

Williams can relate to the pressure. At the age of 14, she made her professional debut in tennis. She was 16 when she was ranked 99th in the world rankings. In her early career, she was the fastest player to record five victories against Top 10 players.

Right after graduating from high school, she signed a $12 million endorsement deal with Puma. That year, she won her first Grand Slam title, the U.S. Open, and rose to number four in the world rankings.

It's not the same sport, but for sure, it's a similar story relating to the pressure Clark is under right now.

Serena Williams supports Caitlin Clark, pushes back on haters

Williams was speaking at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York for the premiere of "In the Arena: Serena Williams," which is set to air next month on ESPN+. She was asked about Clark and the attention around her.

"If people are negative, it's because they can't do what you do," said Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam titles. "I was bullied," Williams says of her experiences when entering professional tennis. "Things that I had to go through, now people would be canceled."

She is proud that Clark ignores social media and what people say because she does the same. Many people expressed their opinions about Clark's being left off the U.S. Olympic team and her slow start to the season, but during the press conferences, Clark held her own to show she was just trying to play the game.

Clark has frequently said she tries to stay off social media. She said Thursday that she is opposed to any racist and misogynist "agendas" online.

"People should not be using my name to push those agendas," Clark said before the Fever's game Thursday. "It's disappointing. It's not acceptable. Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it's just a basic human thing that everybody should do."

"I just love that she tries to stay grounded," Williams said of Clark, adding, "It's just so important to continue doing what she's doing, no matter what other people do."

Getting advice and praise like this from a tennis great like Williams should be one of the only things Clark uses social media to take a look at.