Serena Williams and Her Career

Serena Williams holds the number one spot in women’s single tennis. She has won the second highest number of Grand Slam singles titles of all time. Outside of tennis, she is involved in charity projects with organizations like UNICEF. For someone with all these incredible accomplishments, there is always some level of contempt towards them- especially when it’s a woman. An infamous cartoon of Williams published by the Herald Sun depicted her as a caricature of the “Angry Black Woman” stereotype. Unfortunately, the racist cartoon is not the first attack that Williams has been subject to. In 2001, when Williams was only 19 years old, a largely white crowd yelled racial slurs at her at a tournament in California. In an interview, she recounted the incident, saying, “Racial slurs used, it was loud, it was like an echo, it was so loud I could feel it in my chest.” These incidents translate onto social media as well, with tweets body shaming and insulting Williams, which has prompted her to speak out against sexism and racism in sports. Williams has refused to back down. She has been leading conversations about how women–specifically Black women–are treated in the world of tennis. Her speaking up has been labeled as “meltdowns,” “tantrums,” “aggression,” and far worse. Despite all of this, Serena Williams has not been discouraged from speaking her truth. Williams is an inspiration not only to women who are athletes, but to any woman in a male-dominated field. We keep fighting, no matter what.

image source:

https://people.com/sports/serena-williams-us-open-loss-worst-match/