WASHINGTON (AP) — Venus Williams says LeBron James would look good in a Miami Heat uniform.
Williams spoke at the National Press Club on Wednesday promoting her new book and James was one of the topics she touched on during a question-and-answer session.
The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., resident endorsed Miami as a new home for James, the prize of this year’s NBA free-agent class.
“I’m from Florida, so Miami certainly is the best place,” Williams said. “I actually have a slide show prepared, if he wants to watch, on why. But I’m sure he’ll make the right decision.”
Dressed in a colorful teal blouse and white skirt for the luncheon, Williams switched to a peach EleVen shirt — part of her own clothing line — and white shorts by early evening, when she was introduced as the newest member of the Washington Kastles of World Team Tennis.
By the time she took the court for a women’s doubles match played in sweltering temperatures near 100 degrees, Williams was attired in a Kastles uniform — blue tennis skirt and a red T-shirt. Williams and Rennae Stubbs beat Martina Hingis and Sarah Borwell of the New York Buzz, 5-3.
Later in the evening, with the temperature cooled to a steamy 92 degrees, she beat Hingis 5-4 in a singles match, winning a nine-point tiebreaker. On one serve during their match, Williams broke Hingis’ racket.
Williams said at a pre-match press conference that she was still passionate about her tennis career, despite not getting past the quarterfinals in her last four Grand Slam tournaments.
“I have a full life and I enjoy my life,” said Williams, who turned 30 in June. “I enjoy my tennis and I enjoy my pursuits off the court. I aim to excel in all of them.”
During the luncheon, the moderator of the Q&A session read a question asking what advice Williams would give to the embattled Tiger Woods. She cautioned against too much public criticism of Woods’ personal problems.
“I think as a country and as a world, we’re way too judgmental on the same things that we might be doing also,” she said. “I think we need to stop judging the next person and focus on our own life. He’s a champion and he’s played so well.”
Earlier, when asked how she would fare against women’s tennis legend Billie Jean King, the five-time Wimbledon champion smiled and took her usual self-confident stance.
“How can I not go with myself? … It would be a close match. It would be a toss-up with both of us in our primes,” she said.
Self-assurance was one of the themes Williams discussed while promoting her book, “Come to Win,” a look at the life and business lessons taught by sports. Other topics she touched upon included focus, drive, discipline and the lessons that can be learned in both success and failure.
When asked if she had learned any lessons in her defeat at Wimbledon, where she lost in the quarterfinals to unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, Williams smiled sheepishly.
“Gosh, no,” she said.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
