The Elephant In The Room: Racism In Modern Day Tennis

With the recent brutal killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests that swept the US and even parts of the UK, we as a society have been forced to assess our perspective on injustice and racism. Are we really doing enough to combat racism and inequality? Sport and tennis in particular is no stranger to racism, in fact it seems most of the incidents that occur in the tennis world are brushed over, never seeming to even glamorise the front pages as it would if any racism was to occur in the middle of a Premier League football match.

Racism in tennis has a rich history dating back to 1956 with Althea Gibson breaking the colour divide and becoming the first African-American to win a Grand Slam title. In fact after the Williams sisters she is the most successful African-American tennis player to ever compete. Her playing days coincided with the times of American racial segregation, many of her hardships were in societal terms to be considered normal back then which amplifies her achievements even further. Gibson went on to win numerous grand slams and after retiring went on to feature on national television, advertising for big retails brands such as Pepsi and Coca- Cola. She was a role model, not only for African-Americans but for women a-like.

But the story of Indian Wells 2001 and Serena Williams is one of the darkest days professional tennis has ever seen. Leading up to that eventful day the Williams' sisters were dominating the world of women's tennis. They overcame societal hurdles that many people of colour would of had to have overcome, they were a shining example and role models for any person of colour that dreamed of making it big in the world of sport.

The stage was set for Serena and Venus to go head to head in the semi-finals, a last minute injury to Venus however forced her to pull out leaving fans very unhappy. The mode of venting their frustrations would go on to paint a dark cloud on tennis history forever.

Serena went on to draw Kim Clijsters in the final. As soon as Serena took to the court so was subjected to a chorus of jeers. Much of the Williams family was also in attendance and they got a lot of the brunt. The wave of boos on her arrival was only the beginning however. The match was tainted by boos, jeers, racial slurs and chanting all throughout.

She goes on to speak about the incident in further detail;

''I remember the whole stadium - it was 99% white people and they were all booing. It was racial slurs used, it was loud, it was like this echo, it was so loud I could feel it in my chest.''

'' I was just a teenager and I just couldn't understand, why? It was a horrible feeling to have to live through. I remember driving home and just crying the whole way. Meanwhile, I'm holding the winner's trophy. I would never go back, Indian Wells clearly didn't need me and I definitely didn't need them.''

The Williams' sisters went on to abandoned the tournament altogether, having never featured in one ever since.

The fact Serena has been a player of great controversy over the years is no surprise, her frequent moments of intensity especially with umpires are well documented. But we have to question if her acts of supposed 'controversy' are simply the acts of somebody who is playing with heart and passion? By comparison did the media spin the same headlines when white player Dmitry Medvedev went on a tirade against umpire Lahyani, even going as far as to hit his umpiring chair with a tennis racket multiple times?

If we though that British tennis might be exempt from racism we only have to look to British number 166 Jay Clarke who went on record in December 2019 to say that he experiences racist abuse ''nine days out of 10''

Clarke went on to speak out about the hostility he faces because of his skin colour in a response to a message from British counterpart Liam Brody.

Broady wrote in a tweet

'When one of my best mates gets chased home for simply walking past a pub at night and has to hide in the bushes to avoid getting beaten up because of his skin colour how ca you claim racism doesn't exist in this country?'

Clarke went on to respond to Broady by saying

'Not this extreme but I experience something like this at least once a day 9 days out of 10'.

If one good thing is to come out of these protests that will inevitably sweep the nation here in the UK, it is that sport and tennis need to be the biggest benefactor. Football has already progressed in that regard with the 'Kick it out' campaign and it is still struggling with its issues. International tennis in comparison is at the start of a long rocky road ahead. Now would be a good time to put on its climbing boots.