American tennis superstar Serena Williams recently received an outpouring of praise and support from fans for her triumph at the 2015 French Open.
She tweeted, "No one gets there alone," and expressed he gratitude to all her loyal supporters, including fans and partners whom she said helped her get far in her journey.
Though sick, Williams was able to beat Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open, and went on to bag her 20th Grand Slam title after defeating Lucie Safarova at the French Open. As she casts her sights on Wimbledon, the tennis champ is out to prove that a calendar-year Grand Slam is within her scope.
Williams has lots of fans rooting for her. Leading social media sites have been abuzz with excitement. The 33-year old tennis champ was lauded for her iron will and amazing talent. Many people called Williams the greatest athlete and even "a national treasure." Indeed, notwithstanding the trying circumstances, Williams has been relentless in achieving her professional goals.
Williams did not fail to give credit where it is due, citing the support of her French coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who was instrumental for her accent to victory when other players were falling by the wayside.
Along with the praises came the racist remarks that Williams never seemed to elude. There have always been observations about the tennis star's butt size, toned dark arms, and somewhat hard, masculine characteristics. Racist comments have stung Williams and her sister during the course of their tennis career, but they plodded on.
Experts on culture, gender and race studies have noted how racist comments emanate not just from media but from tennis players' fans. Indeed, Williams has endured countless labels, including being called a "male gorilla in a skirt," Vox reported.
In October last year, Williams expressed her displeasure over a tennis chief's "sexist, racist" comments. This time around, Williams seems to be too preoccupied concentrating on her next big tournament and acknowledging the endless support of fans to allow racial slurs to rain on her parade.