Not a United Place – American WTA Star Once Revealed the Negative Impact of Venus and Serena Williams Success on Other Black Players - EssentiallySportsAmerica's Favorites Trending in U.S.A.
Not a United Place – American WTA Star Once Revealed the Negative Impact of Venus and Serena Williams Success on Other Black Players
Published 11/09/2022, 6:45 AM ESTBy Serena Williams (L) and Venus Williams touch rackets after Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 during Top Seed Open – Day 4 at the Top Seed Tennis Club on August 13, 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) When Venus and Serena Williams entered the realm of women’s tennis, they did not fit in. They were not people’s favorites, and they were criticized for anything and everything. But now they are the flag-bearers in women’s tennis. However, their impact hasn’t always been positive for other African-American players. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Taylor Townsend, the current world no.33 on the WTA rankings, once talked the same. She described how she has been misunderstood by fans in the past as Coco Gauff, Venus, and Serena Williams. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Taylor Townsend was mistaken for Coco Gauff Venus and Serena Williams
Initially, the Williams sisters did not fit in the world of tennis. People criticized them for their performance, their attitude, or their looks and attires on the court. However, they became the face of tennis over the course of two decades. So much so that people were mistaking other black women tennis players as them. spoke about the same during an interview with the WTA in 2020. She , “Everybody sees a black person and assumes that it’s Venus (Williams) or Serena (Williams)- I’ve been literally all of them, except for myself.” Furthermore, she detailed her unpleasant experience of people mistaking her for other players. She said, “I’ve had people argue with me, to tell me that I’m Gauff. All of us look the same, all of us are built the same.” Townsend expressed her point by saying, “Even in the tennis world, it’s not a united place. We lose our identity of who we are because there can only be one.” The struggles of the Williams sisters
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad The Williams sisters, through their incredible achievements on the WTA Tour over the years, have broken several stereotypes in women’s tennis. They stuck together and worked their way to the top. Williams won seven Grand Slam titles and is still active on the WTA Tour.Serena Williams of The United States is congratulated by her sister and opponant Venus Williams of The United States following their ladies singles third round match on Day Five of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) On the other, before retiring in 2022, Serena won 23 major titles, one behind Margaret Court’s all time record, and 73 singles titles. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad WATCH THIS STORY: Together, the two sisters won 14 grand slam titles in the doubles category. They canceled out the baseless criticism from the outside and, under the aegis of their father, Richard Williams, started paving their way to greatness. SHARE THIS ARTICLE
ADVERTISEMENT Shivali Sharma 670 articlesShivali Sharma is a tennis author at EssentiallySports. She has pursued her Master's in history from Himachal University, but her love for the game has driven her to write about tennis. Shivali is a huge fan of Naomi Osaka and admires Osaka not only for her on-court performances, but also for her off-court actions.Please enable JavaScript to view the ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT EDITORS' PICK
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