“Surviving against the sharp white [tennis] background”

Black American tennis superstar Serena Williams is one of the most prolific tennis players of all time. In the predominantly white sport of tennis, her athletic accomplishments include being the number one player in the world for three years, holding the most Grand Slam titles in singles matches and, most recently, being named Female Athlete of the Decade by the Associated Press. To say the least, Serena Williams will go down in history as one of the best athletes of all-time. Her impressive achievements have not shielded her from misogynoir, a concept coined by Black feminist scholar Moya Bailey, which refers to the experienced intersections of racism and sexism in the daily lives of Black women. Throughout her life and career, Williams has been expected to mitigate the most natural of emotional and corporeal reactions from the violent process of being “thrown against a sharp white background,” a repeated refrain throughout the play.