Serena Williams says Black women are 'underpaid and undervalued' in tennis

When Serena Williams me her debut as a pro in 1995 only Black people to have won any Grand Slams were Arthur Ashe and Ala Gibson. Gibson’s 1956 French Open win marked first time in history that any African-American h won a Grand Slam. next Black woman to do this would be Serena Willimas in 1999 - a 43-year difference. When Gibson started playing, America was still under widespre segregation. Despite being World . 1 in 1958, Gibson died with almost thing to her name. 

In her memoir, she wrote: "When I looked around me, I saw that white tennis players, some of whom I h thrashed on court, were picking up offers and invitations. Suddenly it dawned on me that my triumphs h t destroyed racial barriers once and for all, as I h—perhaps naively—hoped."

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Serena Williams calls out sexism and racism in tennis

Battling systemic prejudice in form of sexist and racist comments, Serena Williams has become one of most successful players to have played game. Becoming one of few Black women to grace cover of British Vogue, Williams said that she felt underpaid and undervalued as a Black woman in tennis. She credited Black Lives Matter movement with bringing to attention  discrimination that Black people faced every day. 

Serena Williams has spoken out about racism throughout her career. In 2001, she boycotted Indian Wells after receiving racist threats on court. In 2018 she called out chair umpire Carlos Ramos on his decision to dock her a game - a move she believed was rooted in sexism and racism. In her interview, she said that even if things did t change for her, she hoped she could pave  way for more Black women in tennis and show m y have a voice. 

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Serena Williams on Black Lives Matter movement

In her piece in Vogue, Serena Williams credits meteoric rise of Black Lives Matter movement to techlogy. 23-time Grand Slam champion said that techlogy h allowed people to visualize things that have existed and been talked about by Black people for deces. "I think for a minute y (white people) started t to understand because I don't think you can understand but y started to see," she told Vogue. "I was like: well, you didn't see any of this (George Floyd's killing) before? I've been talking about this my whole career. It's been one thing after ar."

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Serena Williams career prize money

Despite having won more Grand Slam titles than any of men on tour, Serena Williams' career prize money earnings are dismally less than her male counterparts. According to WTA, Williams has won $93,542,122 from her 72 singles titles - over 50 million less than vak Djokovic has won for his 81 titles. 

(Above mentioned figures have been sourced from media reports. This website does t guarantee 100% accuracy of figures)

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Im Credits: Serena Williams Twitter