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Serena Williams, an Inspiration Beyond Court

Published 03/25/2023, 8:34 AM EDT

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Serena Williams has had to fight several barriers in order to claim her place as one of the greats in the realm of sports. She grew up in a poor household and battled racism and sexism throughout her 27-year-long career. But Williams never faltered and relentlessly stayed on the path to achieve glory. She broke the record of Steffi Graf (22 Grand Slam titles) after her 2017 Australian Open triumph. However, that win was special for another reason. She played through the tournament and defeated player after player while being pregnant.

Safe to say, Williams has established her place as one of the greats and became an inspiration to several players worldwide. Williams has been an inspiration beyond the world of tennis as well. She has also shown her prowess as a businesswoman and a charitable person.

Serena Williams’ legacy in changing the lives of black women

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Serena Williams has done her absolute best to empower women. The tennis legend also invests in women owned business in order to ensure they can stand equal with everyone else and dominate their field.

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Venus Williams and Serena Williams have helped in making sure that greater diversity exists in the community and in sports overall. Their prominence motivated African-American kids who grow up in underprivileged homes and neighborhoods to learn and compete in tennis.

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‘Belief Can Be Found Within’ – Serena Williams Shells Out an Important Message for Fans

Williams has had a significant impact on society, especially on mothers and women, in addition to her influence on athletes. She has discussed her experiences and struggles throughout childbirth to establish an open dialogue. Serena experienced a very risky delivery and later battled postpartum depression. The ‘Queen of the Court’ wants to encourage others to advocate for themselves. Her story opened a narrative as to how black women don’t receive the same care as white women.

Serena has challenged the double standards in tennis

In an incident in 2001, Williams endured endless boos in a hostile atmosphere. It took place at the Indian Wells final in 2001. Racial slurs “flew across the stadium” at Richard Williams and his daughters, as per Richard Williams in his memoirs. This event led to the Williams sisters boycotting the Indian Wells Masters for almost 15 years.

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Williams was also a part of a highly controversial match. Jennifer Capriati beat Williams in the quarterfinal of the US Open 2004, many would say due to questionable line decisions. For Williams, the memories of that match are traumatic even to this day. Their bout had a significant impact on the introduction of the Hawk-Eye system in tennis.

The reason Hawk-Eye became a thing was because they were calling my balls out and they weren’t even close to the line,” Williams said on a podcast with the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. She further added, “In that match, I gained this fear of hitting because every time I hit the ball, they would call it out no matter how close or far it was (inside the line).”

Serena Williams is considered one of the most influential athletes

Williams has also invested a lot of time and resources into creating appropriate tennis facilities in the capital of the United States. In the 1950s, tennis players were predominantly white. However, that isn’t the case at present, as sports worldwide are much more diverse. Serena, along with her sister Venus, has had a part in bringing about this change as she motivated young persons of color to take up tennis.

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Williams has never been afraid to be a black woman playing a predominantly white sport, i.e. tennis in the 80s and the 90s. Williams has faced many trials and tribulations in tennis. But she has overcome these obstacles with great panache and continues to work for the empowerment of minorities via her capital investment firm, Serena Ventures.

Serena Williams is an inspiration

Williams has also received criticism for being an ambitious woman in tandem to the double standards she had faced on the tennis court. “Often women are put in these different boxes when we are ambitious or when we do have goals or when we reach our goals there’s a negative connotation on how we reach those goals,” she said during her appearance in Markle’s podcast, Archetypes.

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Watch this story – ‘You Need To Frame It and Sell It..’- Serena Williams’ $70 Million Worth Husband Alexis Ohanian Receives Giant Auction Advice As Olympia’s Talent Soars High

Williams’ story is about the first African-American woman to win a Grand Slam match in the Open Era. She altered the rules for her community, rose to fame, and urged people to alter their perceptions of women in sport, particularly black women.

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Written by:

Ripunjay Gaba

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Ripunjay is a Tennis Writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his bachelor’s in Economics at Ambedkar University, New Delhi and worked as a freelance writer for a renowned sports publication, covering various social media personalities. Ripunjay is a diehard Roger Federer fan, whose dominance on the ATP Tour made him fall in love with tennis.
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Edited by:

Tony Thomas