I love Venus Williams; but Serena Williams is the one. Both sisters have been attacked for YEARS by members of the tennis community under the guise of legitimate criticism. The two sisters are treated as if they are one, interchangeable entity. And they are: they are white folks worst nightmare. A black tennis player who ain’t country club bred and will bust you upside the head and take all kinds of Grand Slam booty.
They are simply despised because they are black and proud and unbowed. This week, the tournament at “Indian Wells” begins – but without Venus and Serena. Eight years ago, an exceptionally ugly incident took place that has been hard to find on YouTube or on video anywhere.
Venus was to play Serena in the semifinals of the tournament in 2001; she ended up pulling out, ten minutes before the match. The tournament sponsors, ESPN and the assembled crowd were all caught off guard. People had been speculating that the matches between the two sisters were fixed , by their father, on what evidence: white folks’ intuition.
The following video is the last game of the final between Serena and Kim Clijsters of Belgium. Serena, Venus and their father had been booed unmercifully at the outset of the match. Watch this video to see how Serena handles racist adversity; then follow the link to YT and check out the entire match, especially the first segment.
And some people question why the Williams family don’t go back Injun Wells. Puhleaze?!
afrospear.wordpress.com 
They are also criticized by some for having other interests in addition to tennis. It is often framed as them having a “lack of focus.” In addition, the tennis community’s favorite bogey man–Richard Williams–is often tsk-tsked for encouraging his daughters to have other interests.
As if life balance were a bad thing. As if recognizing that a professional athlete’s career is a relatively short one is a bad thing. As if their only role in life should be to be entertainment for tennis fans.
Ololo! I like what is written here!!
Fight for your rights, forget about fighting for Equality, stand up for what is yours:
What I find interesting is that Americans who comment on issues such as this are so ignorant to the sport’s demographics. Venus and Serena seem like wonderful people as well as athletes. It irritates me when people follow the sisters but know nothing else of the sport. The idea that tennis players come from country clubs is an antiquated notion. Many of the top players in the WTA are white eastern European or South American players born and raised in the kind of poverty that Americans, even those raised in Compton, could never fathom or probably survive much less flourish. I would never attempt to diminish the accomplishments of Venus or Serena both on or off the court; they are true champions. But let’s be honest, when Richard stated that someone in the stands yelled, “Nigger, I’m gonna skin you alive!” seems a bit embellished. I’ve been to matches all around the world and your average tennis fan who spends the kind of money it takes to go to those tournaments usually doesn’t have that mentality. But he’s never been known for his subtlety.
Angel, I don’t know what folks in the stands in Indian Wells said, but did you listen to their reaction in the YouTube video?
I’ve never heard a tennis crowd react like that to one of their own…though the point of my piece is that the Williams sisters aren’t considered “one of their own” by the tennis community. Actually, there is one crowd that I have heard was this bad.
When Althea Gibson first played/integrated the US Championships at Forest Hills, there were boos, catcalls and shouts of “Beat the NIGGER” ringing through the stadium. I’m sure folks thought she was imagining that, too.
As for the sport being a country club sport, how many public park players have been state or national champions or world ranked? It takes tons of money to do it and most of the kids in THIS country who become real players belong to a club. Certainly, some other countries subsidize their players at a certain level, but you don’t get to that level without dough.
Yes, the reaction was unfortunate, but I would prefer not to draw comparisons to reactions given to a player five decades earlier. Althea was a hero and should be remembered as such; Venus and Serena, although being great athletes, are no heroes; they are what they are, sports figures. I agree that it takes money and connections to advance your children to the upper echelons of tennis; no question. But it is documented that once the sisters started to show talent and promise, at a very early age, that deals and endorsements were being hurled at them; largely due to their African-American heritage+tennis phenom= extremely marketable. Venus, at one time, had the highest paying clothing endorsement deal ever given to a female athlete. They both trained at prestigious tennis academies from the time they were early teenagers. The argument that I attempted, sorry if it wasn’t clear, was that many of the other players came from similar backgrounds financially. Of course there is government subsidizing once promise is shown, and there is here too, but in places where many of today’s dominant players were born(former Soviet Union, former Yugoslavia, former Czechoslovakia etc.) there was no government aid such as welfare. So the children were forced into tennis by parents as a means of supporting their families. As for not being well received by fans on one or two occasions, remember, even Andre Agassi, arguably tennis’ most internationally beloved figure in the history of the sport, has been booed off the court. If fans feel as though they have been cheated or not given the entertainment they expected they will react negatively. I suppose perhaps one could argue that that was racism towards his Arabic heritage.
The Williams sisters NOT heroes?! To you, Angel, maybe. To many others the fact that not one but, two black sisters have done something unheard of: ascend from the streets of South Central to dominate a sport that blacks rarely succeed in. And they have done it with class and grace.
You cannot seriously believe that their story is not seriously inspiring? Yes, they got in with some academies and instructors who helped them. You have to have TONS of talent in order to get there – if you’re black. Yes, they began to receive BIG endorsements; all the more reason to praise their father for having amazing marketing skills and them for being able to take instruction and run with it. There are a whole lot of kids who have that kind of treatment and implode. They didn’t.
Sure, Richard says some stupid stuff. But he is a ghetto genius. He took his family from the poor house to the BIG house – their OWN big house…without drugs and a bunch of other mess.
Gotta give ’em props.
“Class and grace”? It is my opinion that the reason people don’t like the Williams sisters is their lack of class and grace as well as their attitude that everyone in the world is racist but them.
James, can you provide a single quote by one of the Williams sisters saying “everyone in the world is racist but us” or something to that affect? I’d love to see it.
One of the complaints that were made against the Williams sisters – for years – was that they never complimented their opponents. Translation: they refused to conform to some white standard of speech. That isn’t who they are. They are DIFFERENT. Lack of conformity = impudence/classlessness. “How dare they not…act like clones of us…we are the standard everyone should be measured by after all…”
Europeans, who have made speaking with a forked tongue their first language, can’t stand it when the two sisters talk straight, talk about themselves without playing the game of “my opponent really made me sweat out there, she’s such a fighter” and other lies that barely suppress a smile. White standards DEMAND that you speak generous lies, while snickering to yourself, “I hammered that bitch.”
That kind of honesty is considered cute in a maid, or a servant, but not in a powerful opponent playing a white sport that would rather still be exclusively white.
Freeslave, I like you. You state your case and argue your point well. You are a respectable blogger. This maxjullian however seems a bit confused. You are correct when you say that they have been criticized for not complimenting their opponents. Unfortunately, it is not after a victory that this is applicable, it is in defeat. Both sisters rarely attribute a loss on court to an opponents superior playing. I’m sure we all have seen Venus and Serena absolutely blown off the court. If you say you haven’t then you don’t really follow the sport; it happens more than you may think. They usually say things like, “she played okay…I just didn’t play my best today.” It’s a benign slap in the face, but a slap none-the-less. If you think that doesn’t come off as bitter and spiteful and in poor sportsmanship then fine, but most of us do. If you mean that they are “keepin’ it real” and whitey can’t handle their blackness then please don’t speak for all of us. You’re saying that we cannot accept defeat without making excuses or whining about it. “How dare they not…act like clones of us…we are the standard everyone should be measured by after all…” I have to ask, since you wrote this in quotations, to whom exactly are you associating this quote? I would love to know what white person said this. Great match in Miami though, they really took it to each other!
By the way maxjulian: Yahoo reported that Richard Williams said,”Well, I’m black and I’m prejudiced, very prejudiced. People are prejudiced in tennis. I don’t think Venus or Serena was ever accepted by tennis. They never will be. But if you get some little white no-good trasher in America like Tracy Austin or Chris Evert, who cannot hit the ball, they (the media) will claim this is great,” This quote is confirmed and is disgustingly ignorant. Or you could try the quote from Richard after tennis player Spirlena had an altercation with Venus at the ’97 U.S. Open in which he referred to her as “a tall white turkey.” This man is a hypocrite and an embarrassment to his daughters’ triumphs.
Angel,
That comment may be grammatically incorrect and slightly exaggerated, but it is true. This is a man who has been slapped in the face with racism from the day he was born and his daughters confront it every day of their lives – IN SPITE OF THE FACT that they SURVIVED some of the most heinous experiences imaginable.
The racism that they’ve experienced is subtle and in your face and every shade in between. They have also had advantages based on their “novelty” but they had to and HAVE delivered. And yet, the only thing out of the mouths of tennis babes, commentators and critics is what they do wrong.
That you would not understand the context of Mr. Williams background is understandable. I ain’t mad at him. Could he say things sweeter, in a more “Western-white” manner? Sure. But he doesn’t give a shit based on the way he’s been targeted/profiled, that’s why he says it with no cut card.
Its like when whites got upset at the Nation of Islam for “hating” white people way back in the day, hating them for what they did to us, hating them by talking bad about them, hating them for KILLING us. Whites were confused how this religious sect could “hate us?!”
Imagine that: white folks getting bent out of shape over what we say, while what they DO creates the animosity, creates the conditions that cause the “unpleasant” reaction. And the reaction is mild compared to the virulent racist brutality visited upon us. I say, dem folks crazy baldheads.
Thank you thefreeslave for a great article. As an avid tennis player, and fan, I have seen Venus and Serena live and via TV or internet for the past 12 years. I am amazed at what they have endured throughout the years; and the hatred is real. White supremacy racism flourishes in the US, and the thought of two Black women dominating the sport for the past decade is simply too much for the white world minority to tolerate.
I remember watching Venus play World Team Tennis in Delaware last summer. She hae just won Wimbledon, for the fifth time and I was elated to see her at the Delaware Smash vs. Philadelphia Freedom World Team Tennis match. The World Team Tennis events are always held very small venues. I was literally no more that 10 feet away. Venus is an phenomenal athlete, and I truly appreciated her powerful ground strokes. Her fastest serve of the evening was 130 miles per hour. It was great to see her play….