Lainey Segel
Serena Williams The Best Athlete and Role Model of Our Generation
Lainey Segel
The Best
Serena Williams success on the tennis court is relative to us all. We may witness history as she is just one grand slam short of tying Steffi Graf for the all-time record of most grand slams won (22 in total). Age has been nothing but a blessing to Serena. Instead of slowing down when she hit the anticipated 30 years marker, she has won eight of her total 21 grand slams since then. She won her first Grand Slam in 1999 at the US Open and has not slowed down for over 15 years.
Her Following
A fan of Serena? You’re not alone. She has a huge fan base; on Instagram she has 2.4 million and counting followers, almost twice as much as other top players like Maria Sharapova. She won Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year for 2015. Serena has something for everybody. If you aren’t hooked on her incredible athleticism, her social activism will probably get you. Life is one big balancing act and Serena has mastered it. Between tennis, social appearances, and political influence she truly has it all.
Her Earnings
While she has earned over $74 million in prize money, she ranks 47th in professional athlete endorsement earnings. She even falls after another female tennis player, Maria Sharapova. Given Serena’s game, this statistic is incredibly shocking. What can account for this? Many would point to her appearance. Serena is not your typical, poster girl for an ad campaign. Her bulky arms, muscular thighs, dark skin, and textured hair do not match society’s standards of “beautiful.” Maria Sharapova on the other hand is tall, skinny and blonde and racking in the endorsement deals despite her low ranking as a tennis player.
#StrongIsBeautiful
Serena Williams has tremendous strength, both mentally and physically, and does not need to listen to these stereotypical, unrealistic, illogical norms. The mainstream media enjoys contrasting Serena’s appearance with her smaller, whiter opponents. They think they’re more “feminine.” In an article published in the New York Times last July, writer Ben Rothenberg draws attention to Agnieszka Radwanska. Her and Serena stand at similar heights; 5 foot 8 inches and 5 feet 9 inches respectfully, but Agnieszka weighs merely 123 pounds compared to Serena who weighs closer to 150. Rothenberg contrasts these two talented women and puts their womanness up against each other. He points out that Agnieszka prioritizes her looks and writes that she said, “Of course I care about that as well, because I’m a girl.” This comment can be seen as very offensive to Serena as it attempts to undermine her femininity. The media’s coverage of Serena is very polarized. She is either being objectified as a curvy sex piece and being pictured naked, or being called an ape or man. The President of the Russian Tennis Federation referred to her and her talented older sister, Venus, as the “Williams Brothers.” Serena has risen above these negativities. She started the popular campaign and hashtag #strongisbeautiful. She is a confident, strong woman who is not going to change herself to fit other people’s likings.
Social Influence
Currently, racial turmoils are high in the United States. Serena has used her fame and large following to raise awareness for black people being unfairly persecuted. This August, Serena spoke out on her twitter account about the unjust death of Christian Taylor to her five million followers. She tweeted, “Really??????!!!!!!!!!!? are we all sleeping and this is one gigantic bad nightmare? #ChristianTaylor (Links to an external site.) how many hashtags now?” This message has been retweeted over 14,000 times. Serena has the capability to make a real difference and take a stand about issues that matter to her. .