Table of Contents
- The naming of black sheep pets by Princess Michael of Kent after sports personalities exposes the sad reality of tennis players who faced racism
- The British Royal Family is under fire for naming their black sheep pets as ‘Serena’ and ‘Venus
- The Williams sisters are among the few black women who have attracted love and hate in equal measure
The naming of black sheep pets by Princess Michael of Kent after sports personalities exposes the sad reality of tennis players who faced racism.
The British Royal Family is under fire for naming their black sheep pets as ‘Serena’ and ‘Venus’, the world’s most popular sisters in the tennis world.
The Williams sisters are among the few black women who have attracted love and hate in equal measure. Not for their tennis skills, but for their skin colour.
It’s a vice they have struggled with for many years, yet some people still look at them differently for their dark skin.
Who are the Popular Tennis Players who Faced Racism?
Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Venus Williams bear the scars of tennis players who faced racism in and out of tennis courts.
Serena Williams
Serena Williams. Photo/ Marie Claire.
The 43-year-old has developed a thick skin for racial slurs directed at her. She speaks openly about the weight of these slurs that affected her mental well-being in the past.
Serena who retired in August 2023 after the US Open, found herself a subject of racism once more, courtesy of the Princess of Kent.
A British author, Aatish Taseer, recently revealed these details at the Tell Me About Your Father podcast. Taseer dated Princess Michael’s daughter Lady Gabriella Windsor for three years.
He’s well aware of the ‘racism’ by this British Royalty and even wrote an article about it on Vanity Fair back in 2018.
He revealed that the two black sheep reared in Gloucestershire tainted the image of the British Royalty in Kent.
However, this isn’t the only incident that put Serena among tennis players who faced racism.
She has accused the media, together with tennis commentators of using a language laced with racism undertones. They describe her physique as too muscular and not befitting a woman.
In 2018 Serena was accused of being an angry black woman following her defeat by Osaka at the US Open final. Before that, she kept of the Indian Wells for 14 years following an ugly incident in 2001.
She was booed by the crowd after her sister, Venus Williams, withdrew from the tournament’s semi-finals due to injury.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has, in the past, said that her skin colour attracted bias from umpires and other match officials. She faced stiff fines more than any other female tennis player.
Naomi Osaka
Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts during her women’s singles match against Spain’s Paula Badosa at the French Open at the Roland-Garros Complex. Photo/ The Japan Times.
The four-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t had it eas,y both at her native home in Japan and the US. Osaka was born to a Japanese mother and Haitian father residing in the US.
Some critics in Asia argue that she is not ‘Japanese enough’ despite winning four Grand Slams in her early 20s.
In 2019, a leading Japanese media outlet placed her among tennis players who faced criticism. The media outlet drew Osaka’s caricature and whitewashed her so much that she looked lighter.
This drew a lot of backlash internationally, people calling out the outlet for propagating racial and colourism bias.
Further, she did not have it easy at the 2020 US Open where she supported the Black Lives Matter campaign.
Her participation opened the floodgates of racial abuse online. Shortly after, she opened up about her mental health struggles.
Her openness still attracted racial commentaries from different quarters, some calling her a weak Asian woman.
Venus Williams
Serena and Venus Williams. Photo/ TODAY.com.
She is the eldest of the Williams sisters. However, the 90s and early 2000s ushered her to the ugly side of the world as a black woman.
Though she has several instances that tell of the ugly nature of tennis players who faced criticism, the 2001 Indian Wells competition remains her worst.
She was fiercely booed by the crowd after withdrawing from the event due to injury. Years later, corporates couldn’t see her differently besides her skin colour.
They refused to offer her sponsorship deals. Her white competitors always receive better and more endorsements than she did, despite her WTA ranking at the time as the world No.1.
