Serena Williams: A Pro Tennis Player

Serena Williams is a professional athlete who has conquered the different labels that media and society have given her throughout her professional career. Mini Cooper

Althea Gibson played the sport tennis and she Is the one who made the game tennis. They both wanted to be something In life. Barbara Jordan wanted to be a professor. When Althea was a child, she struggle and she loved to play sports. Althea was Inducted Into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971, later she served as and Commissioner of Athletics for the state of New Jersey. Jordan she had suffered from multiple sclerosis since 1973 and she was In a wheelchair bound by the time she was Invited to give her second Democratic Convention Keynote Address In 1992. Also they both achieve something that they wanted In life so If they can do It you can do

History has referred to her as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier. On August 22, 1950, Althea Gibson, an American sportswoman, became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour. She was the first to win a 'grand slam' title in 1957. She was a pioneer in both amateur tennis and professional golf forging a road for future greats to include Tiger Woods and Venus Williams. She was also the first black woman on the LPGA tour.

For example,“Her accomplishments were revolutionary because of the impact on black America. She proved that blacks, when given an opportunity, could compete at any level in American society(Truong).” This quote not only shows that Althea proved what African American women could do but it opened doors for AA because without her incredible success and ability and opportunities to play at such high levels AA may not have the chance to compete at high levels like they can now. Second, since the beginning of Althea's career she had started to break barriers because “Back in the 1930s and '40s, when Ms. Gibson first started playing tennis, black players weren't allowed to compete against white players. But she was so good that she soon dominated the all-black tournament circuit.

The Williams sister’s have had to suffer under the oppression of the lily white sport of tennis. Throughout Serena’s very successful career there have been multiple cases where one of the judges, either a line judge or a head umpire, have cost her a championship based on the calls that they have made. In 2004, Mariana Alves, cost Serena a trip to the championship game after making five bad calls in a row in favor of Serena’s opponent. As

Throughout the years, sports have become a major part of society. Sports, a large percentage of the time, are a part of peoples’ lives in one way or another. Whether they participate in them or just enjoy watching them, sports are a big deal to the majority of people. There are also some individuals who have redefined the expectations when it comes to certain sports. For instance, Babe Ruth redefined the way people think about baseball, or Michael Jordan completely changing the game of basketball. But Joe Louis and Venus and Serena Williams have changed their games in a way no one could have imagined. Although “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou and “Woman Who Hit Very Hard and How They’ve Changed Tennis” by Michael Kimmelman are different, they are similar in the ways they show how the respected athletes, Joe Louis and the Williams sisters, changed the game and were seen using symbolism in racial and sexual progression.

Winning the Girls 14s National Tennis Championships gave Natalia Kochkodan the chance to make a difference in the world and she jumped right onto that opportunity. In the 18 years that she has lived since the win, she has created a non for profit organization that assists disease stricken children in playing sports, has donated over 10 million dollars to several children’s charities including Ball For All and Project Fit

One of the biggest things that she pushed for in her career was equal pay for men and women in sports. This was a struggle for her as she had trouble paying for her tennis. In the early days of her playing she was not allowed in the picture of her first tennis club because she was not wearing the proper tennis skirt, but instead had on shorts. Her family did not have a lot of extra money to put into her expensive tennis career and it was hard for them to afford the elitists sport. She along with other women had to stand up and risk being band from the tennis league when they signed one dollar contracts with the Virginia Slims to bring attention to the struggle for equal play. It became apparent to Billy even from the young age that she was when she was not allowed in the picture because of her attire that women where not

“Tomboy”, and was probably cut from any tryouts. In recent times women’s sports are becoming more popular, except the fans are predominantly women. The WNBA is the women’s version of the NBA, but not nearly treated the same or as popular. Colleges and Universities have a variety of sports for girls and boys. Some girls might try to cross- into boy’s teams and it usually causes a controversy or a lawsuit against the University. A boy would never try a girl’s sport. Women are very sensitive about their rights and what they are capable of doing in our society that is why they continue to gain power slowly but steadily.

When women decide to participate in sports traditionally for men such as bodybuilding, they risk the chance of being socially stereotyped as lesbians, or simply viewed as "less feminine" then say women figure skaters. For example, Venus Williams is seen as criticized for being very masculine in build and judged on that by her performance. The media has commented on how well she plays, and has compared her to men in her sport. She receives fewer endorsements than many other tennis players do because of her looks (but mainly due to her race).

Serena Williams is the number one women’s tennis player in the world. Her outstanding skills have earned her 50 million dollars through just prizes; that is more than any other athlete in the world (“Serena Williams Fast Facts”). Her fast reflexes, amazing skills, and outgoing personality have made her known as a powerful woman and an inspiration to many young girls. This African-American woman is almost six feet tall and is made of steel. With her long, muscular legs and her quick arms, no wonder she is number one!

I asked Emma Nuzzi what she thought her biggest accomplishment was, she replied with “I would say becoming a very good tennis player.” Emma Nuzzi started playing tennis at age twelve, which she thinks was a late age. When Emma was in the seventh grade she told her gym teacher that she wanted to play tennis she then replied to Nuzzi with “Maybe.”, this did not encourage Emma at the time because her gym teacher was the varsity tennis coach. Emma did not let this get to her too much because she practiced and became the player that she is today.

Black excellence; a term that is possibly defined as the recognition and celebration of the successes of the black community. Lacking from the definition is the idea that black excellence cannot be achieved without understanding its relation to apparent racist perpetrations. In the essay entitled “The Meaning of Serena Williams”, author Claudia Rankine states, “the notable difference between black excellence and white excellence is white excellence is achieved without having to battle racism. Imagine.” The prevalent absurdity exuded by this statement is the unfortunate reality we now inhabit.

Gender inequality in professional tennis is a real and alarming issue, from the pay gap between mens' and womens' tennis players to the low media coverage of women's professional tennis. This issue even goes as far as how differently tennis commentators discuss and analyze mens tennis as opposed to how they discuss and analyze womens tennis. When commentators discuss men's tennis they solely focus on the skill of the players, but when they discuss women's tennis they place more importance on the appearance of the female players, rather than their skill. This instance of gender inequality in professional tennis is further exacerbated by the differences in advertisements for male tennis players and female tennis players. The advertisements involving male tennis players display their athleticism and tennis abilities, whereas the advertisements including female tennis players are appearance-focused, with the females often wearing little clothing. This is corroborated by the popular belief that focusing on the physical appearance of female athletes is the only way in which generating money from women's professional sports is distinctly possible (Fink, 2015, p. 338). Female professional tennis players train just as hard as the men do, thus the gender inequality that exists in the sport is not necessarily a result of how women perform on the court. It is rather a result of how society perceives women playing in professional sports overall, which the mass media is partially to blame

Nadal starts to play tennis when he was 3 years old. His uncle, a professional player before, starts to work with him. When Nadal is 8 years old, he won an under-12 regional tennis championship. His uncle encourages him to play left-handed. When Nadal was only 12 years old, he won the Spanish and European titles in his age group. He turned pro at the age of 15 and started to play on the junior circuit.