Game,... Set,...Match!

I have been a sports nut for as long as I can remember. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I grew up in New York, the city of true sports fanatics, or perhaps because I was an athlete in my younger days. It could also be that I just never left my tomboy years behind; my father having had no sons, made me the designated "boy" and sports was how we bonded. Regardless of why, I LOVE sports. 

There was a time when a woman, such as myself was thought to be a rarity, but thanks to women like Alyssa Milano, we are coming out of the closet. She opened the doors to the life of a female fan in her 2009 book on her love of baseball, Safe At Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic. This gave her a leap forward using her business acumen, and launching a fan clothing line for women. 

I enjoy football, soccer, basketball, baseball, track and field, golf and tennis. Now here is why I am excited. Wimbledon 2012 just ended. For me the finale took place on Saturday, on one of the courts, Serena Williams took the glory, defeating her opponent and winning her fifth Wimbledon Championship. She is the first woman over 30, to win a Grand Slam tournament since Martina Navratilova.

Today, she is a tennis media darling, smashing records, getting ready to break more I am certain. I can remember when her professional career, alongside with her sister Venus, began back in the late 90's. At that time she was critiqued extensively for the guttural yell with her power serves, and the sounds of her hair beads made when playing. The Williams sisters were not warmly embraced by the tennis world when they began to make their mark. Comments ranged from disparaging remarks regarding their outfits, or whether or not they had the ability to last in the game, creating a professional tennis career. Looking back now, it is hard to imagine that they were once viewed as a FLASH IN THE PAN. Recently, well respected tennis player; John McEnroe, was quoted as to having called Serena Williams one of the best tennis players he has ever seen. 

Let me list a few facts of Ms Williams; all are noteworthy ones.

• Today Serena is the only female player to have won over $35 million in prize money.
• She has 29 Grand Slam titles : 14 in singles, 13 in women's doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. 
• She is the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously and only the fifth woman ever to do so. 
• She was also the first woman, along with older sister Venus Williams, to hold all four Grand Slam doubles titles simultaneously since Martina Hingis. 
• Her 14 Grand Slam singles titles is sixth on the all-time list.
• Williams ranks fourth in Grand Slam women's singles titles won during the open era, behind Steffi Graff, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
• Among active players, male or female, she holds the most Major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. 

Not bad for a girl from Compton. Both Williams sisters have amazed and dominated the court, having the top two recorded fastest serves. Venus at 129mph and Serena's record just behind big sister with a recorded 128mph. It has been a long time since a woman of African descent has graced the courts, winning during the open era. The first being Althea Gibson in 1956, referred to as the "Jackie Robinson" of tennis, paving the way for Zina Garrison, and the Williams sisters. 

With merely a few weeks off, Serena will be back at it again going for the gold in the 2012 Olympics in London, accompanied by her equally talented sister Venus. They will be heading off the USA team in this year summer games. This has all come under a difficult two years, for the sisters health wise. Serena has recently recovered from surgery, and a blood clot in her lungs. Venus has been battling Sjogren's Syndrome. a rare auto immune disease. Still these unstoppable women continue to aspire; as well as inspire. They may lose at times, but, whenever they hit the courts I smile. My smile not just for their accomplishments, but for the indelible mark they have left in a sport, once thought only for the privileged and white. 

There is now a insurgence of other women of color climbing up the ranks, inspired most likely from seeing what the Williams sisters have been able to accomplish, demolishing a glass ceiling in a sport that once upon a time, Blacks were not even permitted to compete in.

To those who continue to make their mark I want to mention their names as well; Chanda Rubin, Dally Randriantefy, Jewel Peterson, Stephanie Foretz, Angela Haynes, Shenay Perry, Megan Moulton-Levy, Milagros Sequera, Ahsha Rolle, Alexandra Stevenson, Mashona Washington, Jamea Jackson, Raquel Kops-Jones, Jennifer Elie, Sloane Stephens, Asia Muhammed, Danielle Mills, Chloe Babet, Tiya Rolle, and Brittany Augustine. 

Before her death, Althea Gibson, then 74-years old, was again caught up in the emotional tumult of another major tennis event with the semifinal victories by Venus and Serena Williams in the United States Open. She then said to her friend the following words;

"I would like to congratulate the Williams family for accomplishing this historic achievement, two family members and two sisters who have become two of the greatest tennis athletes in the world."

Yes, I love sports, but what I love more is watching these amazing athletes continue to pave the way for young Black women. Allowing my daughters to look up and see the possibilities of creating opportunities, where once there was none.          

As always, I end this with a quote; but first a thought. Athleticism begins with one, whether it is a competitive team sport or solo play. It is the individual athlete that goes out and finds their limits and pushes through them. It is not always done for the glory or the medals, but to prove to oneself their own possibility.  To seek beyond what they know they can already accomplish, but rather to find what they thought would be challenging, to meet full force and to accomplish.

"Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. "~William Arthur Ward