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COACHES COME AND GO
A Legend Says Goodbye
Mia Scheulen
Staff Writer
Serena Williams is an African American professional tennis player. Serena was ranked No. 1 in the singles for 319 weeks (6 years, 11 months), with 186 consecutive weeks at the end of the year as No. 1 fi ve times. Winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
Unlike most tennis players in the 1900’s Serena was not born into wealth. She grew up in Compton, California, beginning her tennis career at the age of four. Her father, Richard Williams, has coached her from the fi rst day she picked up a racket to current day. After a successful few years at age 9, The Williams family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida to attend Rick Macci’s tennis academy, in which he paid for everything the Williams needed. Richard pulled both Serena and Venus out of junior tennis tournaments when they were 10, wanting them to ‘grow slowly’. The racism they received also fueled this as the words they were hearing from white parents made Richard revert to a practice only schedule. During the change to this schedule Serena was 43- 3.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Author: Edwin Martinez
Williams lost in the third round of the 1999 Australian Open. One month later, Williams won her fi rst professional single title defeating Mauresmo in the fi nal Open Gaz de France. She went on to become the highest paid female athlete at $29 million. She was named sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine. She is now the highest paid woman athlete of all time. Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all “Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all time. She’s also a huge inspiration to African American girls across the world. She shows athletes that no matter where you come from and what circumstances you once lived time. She’s also a huge in- in anything is possible. spiration to African Amer- You just need to put the ican girls across the world. effort in. She shows athletes that no matter where you come from and what circumstances you once lived in anything is possible. You just need to put the effort in.
