Dr. Phillippe Douyon has a theory as to why Serena Williams seems so superhuman. The 37-year-old can win 23 Grand Slams, run successful businesses, pick up college degrees, launch a fashion line and speak multiple languages.

"It is my opinion that Serena’s ability to do all of that while becoming the greatest tennis player in the Open era and one of the greatest athletes of our time, is likely the result of how her brain has evolved," Douyon told Baseline. "In all likelihood, the brains of athletes learn more efficiently and function more optimally than those of us who live sedentary lives."

Douyon is a neurologist, the author of Neuroplasticity: Your Brain's Superpower and the founder and CEO of The Inle BrainFit Institute. He also just launched an app, Dr. Douyon's BrainFit, which teaches children and adults about how exercise boosts brain health.

"We used to think that after a certain age you don't make new neurons or connections anymore, but the reality is you can the entire span of your life as long as you're giving your brain what it needs," Douyon said. "Part of that is moving and exercising."

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And if your exercise is tennis, the benefits are even greater.

"I'm a little bit biased because I grew up playing tennis," Douyon says. "But not only does it combines the aerobic activity that we all need, but also the complex motor movements involved in tennis allow your brain to work harder."

"One of the examples is how tennis players tend to be polyglots. They speak multiple languages. It's not like they spend years on end outside of their home country, yet they're able to pick up languages very quickly."

Even though Serena was raised in America, she can speak Italian and French, as she's proven in multiple trophy ceremonies.

"One of the reasons I learned French was I wanted to win the French Open, and I wanted to speak French when I won," Serena said in *Fader* in 2016. She makes it look so easy.

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Fabio Fognini, Stan Wawrinka and Kristina Mladenovic are just some of the other players that speak more than two languages. Part of it is where they grew up, but a lot of it has to do with their brains.

"A lot of times you talk about how it's so much easier for kids to learn a second language and the reality is kids are constantly moving—at least when I grew up," Douyon said. "That triggers our brains to a make new neurons and new connections that allows us to learn things a lot more effectively.

"We can do that our entire lives."

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Serena's Superbrain:
How tennis boosts
your brain health

Serena's Superbrain: How tennis boosts your brain health