Fabresque
Legend
When you think of black female tennis players, nobody else stands out more than Serena Williams. No other female athlete stands out more than her, in fact. Her achievements, her drive, her passion, everything that makes Serena, Serena. It makes her stand out, and it makes her shine in a sport which has typically been white-dominated.
Serena Williams is the greatest female player of all time, there’s no two ways around it. But, with all the stuff Serena has achieved and how incredible she is, she unfortunately has been one of the root causes for the downfall of female African American tennis players.
Take, for instance, Sloane Stephens. At such a young age, shes been Top 5 on the WTA rankings, has won a slam, reached another final, and amassed over $15,000,000 in prize money. Not to mention she’s still just 27, and in an age where sports science and medicine is constantly advancing, she’s relatively young. Her resume looks pretty good, and most tennis players, male or female, would die for that kind of career.
However, Sloane is seen as an abject disappointment. A dud, a flop, an overrated fluff of a player. But... why? I mean, she’s got a lot going for her and still makes money on tour, so what’s the problem? Unfortunately, Sloane is one of many victims of “Serena Syndrome”, a term I use for female tennis players, usually African American, who have been compared to Serena Williams. There’s a simple 4 step process in which these players fall into the syndrome.
1. By no fault of their own, be African-American
2. Win lots of junior titles and burst onto the scene
3. Media draws comparisons to Serena
4. Whatever they achieve is overshadowed
Sloane has unfortunately fallen into this syndrome, no doubt a successful tennis player, she isn’t seen as one. She isn’t even seen as a good tennis player. All because she was compared to Serena at such a young age, and her achievements PALE in comparison.
Sasha Vickery and Taylor Townsend are recent victims. Both African-American, decent juniors, started doing their rounds on tour, and BAM. Serena comparisons.
The most alarming thing about this trend is how people are starting it with the up and coming players, Robin Montgomery and especially Coco Gauff. Coco is the most talented player we’ve seen out of the US for a few years now. After her Wimbledon performances last year, we once again saw the Serena comparisons. I just hope she doesn’t let this get into her head. Coco needs to focus on being Coco. A career with 6 slams and 35 weeks at No. 1 is damn impressive, but it will inevitably be overshadowed by Serena.
Instead of comparing these talented girls to one outlier who’s never going to be surpassed, we need to embrace them. Sloane is not Serena, she is Sloane and always has been. Coco is not Serena, she is Coco and always will be.
Serena Williams is the greatest female player of all time, there’s no two ways around it. But, with all the stuff Serena has achieved and how incredible she is, she unfortunately has been one of the root causes for the downfall of female African American tennis players.
Take, for instance, Sloane Stephens. At such a young age, shes been Top 5 on the WTA rankings, has won a slam, reached another final, and amassed over $15,000,000 in prize money. Not to mention she’s still just 27, and in an age where sports science and medicine is constantly advancing, she’s relatively young. Her resume looks pretty good, and most tennis players, male or female, would die for that kind of career.
However, Sloane is seen as an abject disappointment. A dud, a flop, an overrated fluff of a player. But... why? I mean, she’s got a lot going for her and still makes money on tour, so what’s the problem? Unfortunately, Sloane is one of many victims of “Serena Syndrome”, a term I use for female tennis players, usually African American, who have been compared to Serena Williams. There’s a simple 4 step process in which these players fall into the syndrome.
1. By no fault of their own, be African-American
2. Win lots of junior titles and burst onto the scene
3. Media draws comparisons to Serena
4. Whatever they achieve is overshadowed
Sloane has unfortunately fallen into this syndrome, no doubt a successful tennis player, she isn’t seen as one. She isn’t even seen as a good tennis player. All because she was compared to Serena at such a young age, and her achievements PALE in comparison.
Sasha Vickery and Taylor Townsend are recent victims. Both African-American, decent juniors, started doing their rounds on tour, and BAM. Serena comparisons.
The most alarming thing about this trend is how people are starting it with the up and coming players, Robin Montgomery and especially Coco Gauff. Coco is the most talented player we’ve seen out of the US for a few years now. After her Wimbledon performances last year, we once again saw the Serena comparisons. I just hope she doesn’t let this get into her head. Coco needs to focus on being Coco. A career with 6 slams and 35 weeks at No. 1 is damn impressive, but it will inevitably be overshadowed by Serena.
Instead of comparing these talented girls to one outlier who’s never going to be surpassed, we need to embrace them. Sloane is not Serena, she is Sloane and always has been. Coco is not Serena, she is Coco and always will be.
