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

When Serena Williams made her debut as a pro in 1995 the only Black people to have won any Grand Slams were Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson. Gibson’s 1956 French Open win marked the first time in history that any African-American had won a Grand Slam. The next Black woman to do this would be Serena Willimas in 1999 - a 43-year difference. When Gibson started playing, America was still under widespread segregation. Despite being the World No. 1 in 1958, Gibson died with almost nothing to her name. 

In her memoir, she wrote: "When I looked around me, I saw that white tennis players, some of whom I had thrashed on the court, were picking up offers and invitations. Suddenly it dawned on me that my triumphs had not destroyed the racial barriers once and for all, as I had—perhaps naively—hoped."

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Serena Williams calls out sexism and racism in tennis

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

Serena Williams has spoken out about racism throughout her career. In 2001, she boycotted the Indian Wells after receiving racist threats on the 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 not change for her, she hoped she could pave the way for more Black women in tennis and show them they have a voice. 

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Serena Williams on the Black Lives Matter movement

In her piece in Vogue, Serena Williams credits the meteoric rise of the Black Lives Matter movement to technology. The 23-time Grand Slam champion said that technology had allowed people to visualize things that have existed and been talked about by Black people for decades. "I think for a minute they (white people) started not to understand because I don't think you can understand but they 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 another."

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Serena Williams career prize money

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

(Above mentioned figures have been sourced from media reports. This website does not guarantee 100% accuracy of the figures)

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Image Credits: Serena Williams Twitter