Lainey Segel

Serena Williams

The Best Athlete and Role Model of Our Generation

By 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 negatively 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 stopped dominating for over 15 years.  

Her Following

A fan of Serena? You are not alone. She has a gigantic, international fanbase;  on Instagram she has 2.4 million and counting followers, almost twice as many 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 Ironic Earnings

While she has earned over $74 million in prize money, she ranks 47th in professional athlete endorsement earnings. She even falls later on the list than fellow female tennis player, Maria Sharapova.  Given Serena’s unparalleled success at the game, this statistic is incredibly shocking.

What could 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. She has had no trouble racking in the endorsement deals despite her low ranking as a tennis player.

Tennis is a famously white sport. Not only are most of the players and coaches white, but participants are even urged to wear all white. Tennis is a sport played at all country clubs and you typically must be pretty wealthy to have the resources to be good at it. Places around the world, including the United States, do not seem to be ready for a dominant black player.

Every year, Indian Wells in California hosts a big professional tournament called the BNP Paribas Open. Serena boycotted this tournament for thirteen years because of racism in the stands. When Serena was set to play her sister Venus in 2001, Venus pulled out because of a bad injury. The fans were disappointed and booed her relentlessly throughout the rest of the tournament. Fans conspired that her dad fixed the matches. Serena described the moment in an essay for Time Magazine. She wrote:

“The under­current of racism was painful, confusing and unfair. In a game I loved with all my heart, at one of my most cherished tournaments, I suddenly felt unwelcome, alone and afraid.”

She has shown strength and since then returned to Indian Wells.

#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 how many hashtags now?” This message has been retweeted over 14,000 times.

Not all athletes choose to use their given influential voice. Michael Jordan has faced a lot of scrutiny for this and his pricey sneaker brand. However, Serena believes that with the success comes social responsibility. She has the capability to make a real difference and take a stand about issues that matter to her.