Posts Tagged ‘tennis’
Making Change on the Court: Naomi Osaka Serves Mental Health Concerns
Issue 169-June 6, 2021
As a girl, I loved tennis. I was never destined to be a Naomi Osaka, but I played regularly until I was 13 years old. Then my family moved to a small town where the only public tennis court was at the local high school. Soon after arriving in town, I went there with a girlfriend.
The court bordered on the street. A few minutes into our game, a carload of teenage boys parked in front of the court and shouted remarks about our physical appearance. We ignored the boys till they left, then packed up our racquets and went home. I never played tennis again.
Read MoreSerena, Bianca, Friends at 25 and 3 Powerful Leadership Lessons From the Woman Who Played Chandler’s Father
Issue 107 — September 8, 2019 Some great tennis was played at the U. S. Open last week. While many people were focused on the generational change among the top players — as Serena Williams was defeated as she tried for a historic 24th win by 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu — I was more fascinated by #SisterCourage behavior among the female players. It…
Read MoreSerena For President
Issue 65 — September 9, 2018 I’m not a tennis player. Want to know why? I’ll reveal that in a bit. Right now I am obsessed with Serena Williams for so many reasons. First, it was the flap about her catsuit and then her tutu. But now, all things Serena have ratcheted up to the point that if anyone…
Read MoreSportswomen – How Alice Marble Led the Way for Althea Gibson
Sports isn’t my strong suit. But it’s only appropriate that women who have led the way in the sports world should be highlighted within my Women’s History Month posts. So I asked my friend Beverly Wettenstein, who often writes and speaks on this topic, to guest post this article, originally published on Huffington Post.
Althea Gibson’s induction into the US Open Court of Champions, on the 50th anniversary of her historic title victory, was inspiring. The Opening Night Tribute, to celebrate living African-American women who have also broken barriers in sports, entertainment, politics and the arts, was impressive. Venus and Serena Williams paid fitting tribute to Gibson by winning their opening night matches. Serena Williams became the first African-American woman since Gibson to win the US Open in 1999. The next year, Venus Williams was the first African-American woman since Gibson to win Wimbledon.
However, Alice Marble’s significant role, as the leading public proponent and catalyst for Althea Gibson to break the color barrier in U.S. tennis, should not be overlooked. Women’s contributions are often not properly credited in history and sports books and media coverage. Researching my Women in History and Making History Today — 365-Days-A-Year Database and A WOMAN’S BOOK OF DAYS, I’ve confirmed that less than ten percent of the references in new history textbooks are about women. “Anonymous” may be a woman.
Read MoreSportswomen – How Alice Marble Led the Way for Althea Gibson
Sports isn’t my strong suit. But it’s only appropriate that women who have led the way in the sports world should be highlighted within my Women’s History Month posts. So I asked my friend Beverly Wettenstein, who often writes and speaks on this topic, to guest post this article, originally published on Huffington Post.
Althea Gibson’s induction into the US Open Court of Champions last year, on the 50th anniversary of her historic title victory, was inspiring. The Opening Night Tribute, to celebrate living African-American women who have also broken barriers in sports, entertainment, politics and the arts, was impressive. Venus and Serena Williams paid fitting tribute to Gibson by winning their opening night matches. Serena Williams became the first African-American woman since Gibson to win the US Open in 1999. The next year, Venus Williams was the first African-American woman since Gibson to win Wimbledon.
However, Alice Marble’s significant role, as the leading public proponent and catalyst for Althea Gibson to break the color barrier in U.S. tennis, should not be overlooked. Women’s contributions are often not properly credited in history and sports books and media coverage. Researching my Women in History and Making History Today — 365-Days-A-Year Database and A WOMAN’S BOOK OF DAYS, I’ve confirmed that less than ten percent of the references in new history textbooks are about women. “Anonymous” may be a woman.
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