I’m not a huge tennis fan. My junior high gym class soured me on raquet-related sports after endless pickle ball, tennis and badminton units. But not being a tennis fan does not stop me from being a huge fan of Serena Williams.
Not only is she a tennis superstar and was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year, she is also a great role model for fans of all ages.
Williams is not afraid to stand up for herself. After a reporter asked her why she wasn’t smiling, she fired back.
“It’s 11:30 [p.m.]. To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t want to be here,” she said. “I just want to be in bed right now and I have to wake up early to practice. And I don’t want to answer any of these questions. You guys keep asking me the same questions.”
Indian Wells CEO Raymond Moore bashed women’s tennis with some pretty flagrant remarks.
“If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night on my knees and thank god that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport. They really have,” he said in an interview.
Other comments insinuated that female tennis players need to be physically attractive, as well as good players, to draw in viewers.
Williams was not about to tolerate this.
“Obviously, I don’t think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that,” she said. “I think there is a lot of women out there who are very exciting to watch. I think there are a lot of men out there who are exciting to watch. I think it definitely goes both ways. I think those remarks are very much mistaken and very, very, very inaccurate.”
And she’s a huge advocate for women in sports receiving equal pay. In her cover story for Glamour magazine, she said: “I do believe that women deserve the same pay. We work just as hard as men do. Will I have to explain to my daughter that her brother is gonna make more money doing the exact same job because he’s a man? Because he’s a boy, they’re gonna give him more money? Like, how am I gonna explain that to her?”
Oh, and I would highly recommend looking up the video Glamour magazine produced to accompany her cover story. Anyone who has experienced sexism will probably feel a little bit better.
Most of all, Williams is human. After losing the French Open this year, she admitted she was angry. Instead of giving those canned, cheesy answers about winning even though she lost, Serena was real with reporters and fans. As a journalist, athletes being real about their feelings make a better story.
On top of all of her activism and do-goodedness, she’s a phenomenal athlete. Williams’ most recent feat was her 22nd Grand Slam singles title, tying Steffi Graf’s record.
No matter how good the athlete, to me, it’s important that athletes are positive role models. Sports culture makes players out to be gods, even players with criminal records and sketchy histories.
Everyone deserves a second chance, but if I have my choice, kids and adults alike would be modeling themselves after more positive athletes. Athletes like Williams, who show sports fans how to be a great athlete and an activist for change, are rare. She should not be taken for granted.