‘Not a United Place’ – American WTA Star Once Revealed the Negative Impact of Venus and Serena Williams’ Success on Other Black Players

When Venus and Serena Williams entered the realm of women’s tennis, they did not fit in. They were not people’s favorites, and they were criticized for anything and everything. But now they are the flag-bearers in women’s tennis. However, their impact hasn’t always been positive for other African-American players.

Taylor Townsend, the current world no.33 on the WTA rankings, once talked the same. She described how she has been misunderstood by fans in the past as Coco Gauff, Venus, and Serena Williams.

Taylor Townsend was mistaken for Coco Gauff, Venus, and Serena Williams

Initially, the Williams sisters did not fit in the world of tennis. People criticized them for their performance, their attitude, or their looks and attires on the court. However, they became the face of tennis over the course of two decades. So much so that people were mistaking other black women tennis players as them. Townsend spoke about the same during an interview with the WTA in 2020. She said, “Everybody sees a black person and assumes that it’s Venus (Williams) or Serena (Williams)- I’ve been literally all of them, except for myself.”

Furthermore, she detailed her unpleasant experience of people mistaking her for other players. She said, “I’ve had people argue with me, to tell me that I’m Coco Gauff. All of us look the same, all of us are built the same.”

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Townsend expressed her point by saying, “Even in the tennis world, it’s not a united place. We lose our identity of who we are because there can only be one.”

The struggles of the Williams sisters

The Williams sisters, through their incredible achievements on the WTA Tour over the years, have broken several stereotypes in women’s tennis. They stuck together and worked their way to the top. Venus Williams won seven Grand Slam titles and is still active on the WTA Tour.

On the other, before retiring in 2022, Serena Williams won 23 major titles, one behind Margaret Court’s all time record, and 73 singles titles.

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Together, the two sisters won 14 grand slam titles in the doubles category. They canceled out the baseless criticism from the outside and, under the aegis of their father, Richard Williams, started paving their way to greatness.