'I'm proud of my large boobs!' Serena Williams on learning to love her curves... as she sizzles in a swimsuit for Fitness magazine

Posing in a swimsuit, her figure on show, it's clear Serena Williams is proud of her body.
But the 32-year-old tennis master has revealed that wasn't always the case - as she used to yearn for a more traditionally athletic figure.
But with her success on the court - she is currently world number one - Serena learned to love her body.

'I'm proud of my large boobs!' Serena Williams once yearned for a more athletic figure, but tells Fitness magazine she now 'embraces' her body

'When I was young I thought I should be built more like an athlete—long and lean—not with a womanly figure,' she told Fitness magazine, on whose May issue she poses.
But as she found increased success Sernea developed a huge following.
She explained: 'But then people my age started coming up to me and saying, "I love you because of the way you look." That was really motivating.
'So I learned to be proud of my curves and embrace my large boobs. It’s all about loving who you are and realizing that you’re beautiful.'

Athletic: Off the court the world number one enjoys yoga

And Serena certainly embraces her curves as she poses on the beach in both a red and a white cut out swimsuit.
With her hair long and wavy, she demonstrates her physicality in a perfectly executed crab pose.
While Serena is today thought of as one of the greatest players in hostory, she also enjoys sport for fun.
'For me it’s so important to mix it up, I ran, and then I biked,' she tells Fitness. 'Then I did elliptical … I tried yoga.
'I started dancing because I couldn’t train when I was sick. We started making up moves, and it was fun. Now I run for 10 minutes and then I dance.'
Serena is currently the reigning French Open, US Open, WTA Tour Championships and Olympic ladies singles champion.

Cover girl: Serena appears in May's issue of Fitness magazine, on newsstands April 22

She has won 32 Major titles and four Olympic gold medals.
She tells Fitness that she adopts a persona on court.
'I think of myself as two different people,' she said. 'There’s the Serena Williams that everyone knows: She’s crazy. She can’t make a mistake.
'And she’s angry and just not nice, to be honest. I’m only that person for three hours a day when I’m on the court. The rest of the time I’m just Serena. I’m the class clown.'
And Serena even said she was 'shocked' by the character she creates.
'That’s when Serena Williams comes out and she’s nuts. That really upsets me. It’s not the real me…. Even for me, it’s shocking to see.

In character: Serena's 'nut's on court persona 'upsets' the star, who says she's very different in real life

'But in another way, it’s kind of cool to know that I have everything together on the court, because I don’t really have my life together personally. I’m here and there and everywhere traveling the world and playing tennis.'
Today Serena is the oldest player in history to be ranked world number one.
Early in 2011 she was hospitalised with a blood clot in her lungs, which nearly killed her.
She tells Fitness that for the first time she realised her health came first.
'It was the first time that tennis was the last thing on my mind. I didn’t even think, I gotta practice because I’ve got to beat this girl … At one point, I was just thinking, Will I be OK?'

Historic: Serena, seen at the Oscars last month, is one of the greatest players to ever live

And the experience had a lasting impact.
'I realized that I’m really fortunate to be alive and to be playing, and that it’s not the end of the world if I don’t win ... It was the first time I’ve ever had so much fun on the court. Now I know I don’t have to play again if I don’t want to. I play because I love it.'
After returning to the court, Serena set herself an impossible goal.
'My goal was to be seeded at the U.S. Open by August [2011],' she explained.
'It’s virtually impossible to do that in three weeks. But I worked really, really, really hard with my trainer … It worked. I kept winning, and I was ranked 29th.'
As a result of her illness Serena overhauled all aspects oif her life - including her diet.
'It all started because I didn’t want to bring bad food into the house.
'I live with my sister, Venus, who has Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease. Before her problems I ate a lot of junk I also found out three years ago that I’m allergic to wheat, so I’m trying to eat a clean diet of natural, raw foods.'