The game of tennis historically lacks Black representation; however, the Black players who broke barriers and achieved great success leave a lasting impact on Howard’s tennis players.
According to Zippia, only 8.9 percent of professional tennis players are Black while 72.9 percent are white. The gender divide is nearly even, with 53.8 percent of players being male and 46.2 percent female.
One of the first to chip away at this racial barrier was Virginia native Arthur Ashe. Born in Richmond, Virginia Ashe was a trailblazer in the sport becoming the first and only Black male tennis player to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon singles titles, according to ESPN. He also became the first Black man to achieve the world number one ranking and to be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame.
His influence extended beyond his playing career, inspiring athletes like Hassimiyou Dieng–a graduate student from Dakar, Senegal, and a member of the Howard men’s tennis team–for his contributions to civil rights movements.
“I would say I look up to Arthur Ashe,” Dieng said. “He didn’t just have an impact on the tennis side either, I also like his engagement with civil rights.”
Ashe is known for his opposition to apartheid in South Africa during the late 1960s. He was a vocal critic of the system, refusing to play in front of a segregated crowd for the South Africa’s National Championships in 1973. Through his activism he befriended civil rights activist Nelson Mandela and worked with Andrew Young.
Dieng cited Ashe’s U.S. Open victory as a defining moment for Black players in the tennis world and highlighted his impact on the sport as a whole.
“Tennis is a predominantly white sport, so it’s really important to have diversity,” he said. “He was a pioneer.”
Ava Chambers, a sophomore from West Palm Beach, Florida and a member of the women’s tennis team, draws inspiration from Serena Williams and Coco Gauff.
“When I was younger, I grew up with Coco for a little bit, so I was always around her, seeing her work really hard,” Chambers said. “So, it’s definitely cool to see her accomplish really big things at such a young age.”
Gauff cited both Williams and her sister Venus Williams as her motivation to pick up a racket in an interview on the “Today Show.” The 20-year-old sensation had an extraordinary start to her career, securing a U.S. Open Grand Slam title at the age of 19, becoming the first teenager to win the tournament since Williams in 1999, according to WHYY.
Williams, a native of Compton, California, is widely regarded as the greatest women’s tennis player of all time. Williams won her first Grand Slam title in 1999, making her the first Black woman since Althea Gibson in 1958 to achieve the feat. In total, she owns 23 Grand Slam titles and finished as the year-end world number one player five times in her career.
Chambers, who shares a personal connection with Gauff, reflected on the rising star’s influence, noting that as a Black athlete, representation is limited.
“Also, while being Black, there are not many of us. And she kind of sets the standard,” she said.
Chambers added that Gauff inspires her to keep striving both in athletics and academics.
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
