A History of Tennis "Nonwhites"

Two week ago, Venus Williams captured her 4th Wimbleddon Ladies' singles title, and, as Mad Professah notes, that victory comes exactly 50 years "after Althea Gibson [left] became the first African American tennis player to win a major title." It may seem that blacks have finally arrived in tennis, but, more recent events may suggest otherwise. In The Sunday New York Times, writer/columnist Touré reviews Charging the Net, a fascinating history of blacks in tennis:

[The] wide-ranging history, built on more than 65 interviews, tells in-depth stories about the lives of black tennis stars like Venus and Serena; Arthur Ashe; Althea Gibson, the Wimbledon champ from Harlem who ended up broke, reclusive and bitter; and Zina Garrison, the Wimbledon finalist who, during her career, was dragged down by bulimia and a husband who, she says, encouraged her to stay on the tour so he could continue his affair with one of her friends.[...]

Racism [is] a recurring theme, arguing that it has dealt a devastating blow to black tennis dreams. They write, 'The unspoken but persistent vibe that you are not welcome, that others would be happier if you went away, a vibe that black tennis players have sensed on the main tour for decades, makes it difficult to find the rhythm and comfort zone needed to perform at your best.' Leslie Allen, who played on the women’s tour in the ’80s, when players frequently stayed with host families rather than in hotels, says housing was often hard to find: 'I’d go to a tournament where the family wanted to house the No. 1 seed. But when that family found out that the No. 1 seed was me, then suddenly the housing disappeared.'"

There is also a companion review to tennis ace James Blake's new memoir. Touré is not very impressed the athlete's autobiography, noting that Blake "glosses over the subject of race" in general and in particular, his infamous moment at the United States open his "when his opponent, Lleyton Hewitt, suggested that a black linesman was making calls in favor of Blake because of their shared race." Thankfully, Blake expands upon that story to the authors of Charging the Net.

Tennis Nonwhites [NYT]
WIMBLEDON 2007: Ladies' Review [Mad Professah]

Some Background ...

James Blake in "Men's Vogue" [R20]

Comments

[Luther]

As a huge tennis fan who has played since grade school, and followed the sisters and just about every black from the late great Arthur Ashe to Zina and that defeat at Wimby by Martina out there for the past 40 years or so, I disagree with the Blake analysis. James Blake is not now, nor has he ever been the poster boy for anything race related. his Mother is white and he has seen two sides of the coin and tends to see the world in a different set of eyes. He's just a nice guy who does not make waves, who happens to be black. He wussed out with that out and out racist Hewitt, who should have been called out for what he is, but, that's not Blake's style. And, no matter what Toure says, as though he is a tennis writer, the book is pretty good, I have read it along with a few others since its #22 on the NYT list.

As for the women, the sisters have endured as much hatred on most tennis related boards as I have ever seen, mainly Serena who makes no qualms about being black and proud. I think they cut Venus some slack since she only dates white men and is so low key, but, to be a proud black person in this sport isn't easy, its not even that easy to be a fan at times of black players, although it has never stopped me, and I have loads of players i follow who aren't black, too bad so many other so called tennis "fans" don't get this.

Tennis news, wow, thanks Rod :).

[princegoro]

"mainly Serena who makes no qualms about being black and proud. I think they cut Venus some slack since she only dates white men and is so low key"

I don't think that's why most do not like Serena. She rarely gives credits to the winning player and always blames her injuries to her losing the match. Venus has been more gracious and more sportsman like.

[Luther]

Actually princegoro that is a huge misconception about Serena, she is no different from Justine who also gives interviews along the way. And, as for Serena not always being so "gracious" the press and Internet message boards have been twisting her words for years, and taking many of the comments out of context.

She is a player you love or hate, and in the USA she seems to be hated more than any other active player and for the piddlest of excuses. Yet at the same time, loved around the world.

As for being a great sportswoman, its been strange how Serena is held to a much higher standard than any of the other women of her generation and is always expected to be bending over backwards at a loss when others are not, and I for one think that she is doing it her way, just like Justine, Maria and the rest of them, the only one who has been continually gracious in defeat in the past few years was Kim and to a lesser degree Lindsay, who while gracious in defeat always seemed to get a catty comment or two in as well.

And, that has been one of the gripes about Blake, he gives way too much credit in his losses, and that is why he is still viewed as a nice guy but no killer instinct.

[princegoro]

I follow tennis but do not read nor watch their post match interviews much so I can't tell if other players are more gracious than her. The black columnist Michael Wilbon (who is on ESPN's PTI) also thinks Serena hasn't been gracious enough during one of his chats. I speculated also that Serena is hated more is because she has a muscular build (and therefore less woman-like in many people's minds). However unfair, many people still view women's athletes through sexist prism. That's why dykes like Amelie Mauresmo and Martina (during her hay days) are not as popular as the Russian girls like Sharapova. You think that Venus was being cut some slack b/c she only dates white men and is so low key. I (and most casual fans) don't even know she's dating let alone only dates white men.