Examples Of Racism In Tennis

People pretend it does not exist, but racism is still here and very alive in the world of tennis. Despite this, the leaders of tennis pride themselves as being innovative and having forward-thinking because of tangible things like equal prize money, television and media coverage for male and female tennis players. But the sad fact remains that tennis will not truly be socially advanced until racism is stopped. Two of the greatest woman athletes to play the game, Serena and Venus Williams, are both African American sisters who began tennis when they were young and through the years have been hugely successful. The two sisters have brought inspiration to learn the game to a new generation of young African Americans, since they grew up in a poor neighborhood and became professionals. If they could beat the odds, then so could others. Before the Williams sisters conquered the women's tour, there were only a few racial minorities playing tennis either on the men's or women's side of tennis. But, since their meteoric rise, countless more have taken up the sport.

Many believe that the rise of the Williams sister helped decrease the amount of racism in tennis. But in reality, racism has just been swept under the rug. Ending racism seems like an impossible task, but with a joint effort from the fans and people involved with tennis,

Even in his absence, Ashe’s legacy lives on with all he did to progress the sport. Ralph Wiley, author of Arthur Ashe on ESPN Classic’s Sports Century series states, "After Arthur contracted the AIDS virus he was asked, 'Is this the hardest thing you've ever had to deal with?' And he said, 'No, the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with is being a black man in this society.’” This message is powerful and shows how our society views African Americans as lesser counterparts to the rest of