So here we have this legendary woman, who kills her at the age of 33, but here we also have society doing what she does best: hate. Every time this powerhouse of a woman has another success under her very large belt of wins, sexist and racist comments come to her.
Plus, people jump on the fact that she’s overly masculine. Frankly, you might say she’s male, but in my mind you just want to suggest that she’s better than any other guy. But don’t just take my word for it. View the statistics:
– She has one twenty one Grand Slam matches. Only three less than most of all time. And that too was accomplished by a woman.
– She has won 28 consecutive Grand Slam matches.
– She will be the first woman in more than two decades to bid to win all slams in one year at this US Open.
– She won eight Grand Slam titles since reaching the age of 30 – the age many people think is a disaster for tennis players. This is also more than any other woman.
These stats scream talent and longevity. However, they don’t even start with the artistic and dominant style of play that Serena has on the court. Check out the internal stats of her matches – serving speed, winners, casual errors – and try to say you need more persuasion.
Even I may not be the biggest fan of Serena, but respect is given where respect is earned. Her achievements cannot be downplayed, let alone ignored. They call Roger Federer the GOAT (greatest of all time), and they say that Novak Djokovic is currently the best in the game (which as a biased fangirl I have to say he is). But even if a woman has a different style of tennis, and even if a woman plays the best two out of three sets, there’s no denying the amazing feats women deliver in tennis, especially Serena Williams.
So, why the hate? Because she’s a woman? Because she’s just too good? Someone else’s guess is just as much mine. However, we must not fan the fire of the media and society by dampening this woman’s success. She has set records that may never be broken. She is on her way to break records that we althought would never be broken. The jokes about the aggressive playstyle, the emotions on the pitch and the masculinity are all nonsense topics to talk about.
Her aggressive playing style makes her one of the greatest tennis players of all time. The emotions she shows on the pitch are just a sign of the passion behind what she likes to do (kick ass). And the masculinity… well, I’ll leave JK Rowling’s tweet to her for you to figure that part out.
Keep killing it, Serena.