Serena changed tennis, women and the world.
Rarely does an athlete, celebrity or even a politician win the hearts of some people who aren’t rabid followers of what they do. Serena Williams is one of those bright stars, playing professional tennis for 25 years and becoming an international icon.
First, Serena broke into the women’s game with her power and fury and, let’s face it, her unusual athletic body. The female game was one of grace and baseline consistency until Martina Navratilova came along, and Serena took the lefthanded Czech’s style to another level.
Second, she became not only the best woman player but also the best African American to ever hold a racket. She surpassed her older sister Venus and was the No. 1 player in the world for 319 weeks and earned almost $100 million, capping each victory with her trademark twirl. Tennis fan or not, you had to watch her.
Third, her fame exposed her incredible family story from the public playgrounds of Compton, California, under the tutelage of her demanding, protective and loving father, who eventually inspired the OSCAR-winning movie King Richard.
And, fourth, Serena became an international fashion icon for girls and women of all ages and sizes. She wore braids and white beads from her first professional match as a teenager, and once tennis lightened up about clothing on the court Serena took it all the way to diamonds on her multi-colored outfits and eventually her hair.
Put that all together with 23 grand slam championships and four Olympic gold medals – plus her willingness to speak out – turned her from a tennis phenom into an international advocate. She married the founder of Reddit in her 30s and had baby Olympia, then went back to competing in grand slam events and other big tournaments.
That she decided to retire after the current U.S. Open in New York, one grand slam shy of Margaret Court’s 24, says she knows her tennis legacy was already cemented and she can move on to what she calls other chapters of her life, including having a second child.
Away from the game, she can become more outspoken as a woman and mother who escaped a difficult childhood, made sports important and proved fashion can work for everyone. She now has a chance to be bigger in her next chapters, an even greater feat in itself.
Featured image via U.S. Open on Twitter
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