Serena Williams: The embodiment of success. She keeps me hungry for more, both on the court and in the classroom. Whenever I failed a math test for the first time this year, I thought of when she makes a mistake and how she drills her flaws in practice so that it surely will not happen again. Reflecting on this, I did worksheets, watched Khan academy lessons, and mastered the content until 3:30 a.m. on the morning that I was retaking the math test, and received a 100%. Agnieszka Radwanska: The mastermind of the WTA Tour. She plays such genius points that her opponents themselves have to applaud her shots. She inspires me to continually awe people with my accomplishments. Angelique Kerber: The warrior of women's tennis. She's known for chasing
down every single ball that makes its way into the court. I quite often use this mentality for never giving up no matter what life, family, or teachers serve to me (pun intended). Garbiñe Mugaruza: The 18 year-old girl who stunned the world by swamping Serena Williams at the French Open and cracking the top ten in 2014. This sparked belief in my aspirations the morning I watched the match. I connected with her by imagining all of that hard work she must of put I with my hard work I'm putting in now, and I know that it will pay off for me just as it did with Garbiñe. Simona Halep: Crowned WTA's award for most improved player of 2013, Simona has skyrocketed though the rankings and is one of the most respected players on tour. This is how I want to model my life. My past is irrelevant to the present and I will not stop improving myself.
She led the team to a Conference championship and a State Championship. As a Senior she was the #1 player in the nation, averaged a triple double with 31 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. For the second consecutive year in history, she led the team to a state championship and led the nation in scoring. All four years in high school she was selected to be on the all-state team, all-region team, and all-conference team. During the summers of her High School years she would continue practicing and playing for an AAU team.
Lisa was a very successful and talented player in high school. On her first day
...Brooks’ uses the late Arthur Ashe as an example of an athlete who succeeded at their sport but was also very intellectual; all while honoring Arthur Ashe for his contributions to tennis and society in general.
One man, a musician by the name of Buddy Walker, saw Althea play one day and had a revolation. He figured that if Althea was so good at table tennis, then she would excel in regular tennis as well. At the time, no one realized just how beneficial this idea would be for the young Harlem girl, Althea Gibson. Through donations raised to pay for her membership and lessons, Althea became a member of an African American club called the Harlem Cosmopolitian Tennis Club. It was here that she aquired the skills needed to compete in tennis matches at a higher, more competative level.
Black excellence: a term that is possibly defined as the recognition and celebration of the successes of the black community. Lacking from the definition is the idea that the acknowledgement of the excellence for black community is directly correlated to the experience of racism. In order for black excellence to be acknowledged, you must discuss the racism it had to overcome in order to reach said excellence. In the essay entitled “The Meaning of Serena Williams”, author Claudia Rankine discusses the career of tennis phenomenon Serena Williams and the natural excellence that she embodies. Throughout the essay, Rankine explores the perceptions of Serena’s excellence in relation to her identity as a black woman. For Rankine, while she never explicitly defines black excellence, she refers to the phrase when she states, “Only after they give 150 percent will white Americans recognize black excellence for what it is” (Rankine). They, in this case, refers to the black community and the belief among the community that in order to achieve recognition for being excellent, you must work harder than members of the white community. Even when acknowledged, it is often hypocritical because the acknowledgement stems from the idea that despite being black, you were able to achieve some sort of excellence. This is the problem.
The book I chose to read for this assignment was Pressure Is A Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes, by Billy Jean King. The book chronicles the lessons Billy Jean King, a tennis legend and advocate for gender equality, learned from family, friends, and mentors growing up, as well as her efforts to help the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s. King writes that the lessons she learned as a child and young adult really paved the way for her success on and off the tennis court. The advice and life tips Billy Jean provides not only give the reader insight as to what kind of person she is and why she has been so successful in her endeavors, but also serve as inspiration to live life to the fullest.
Diane Sawyer is an American television journalist who started her career after attending college. Her career started small, at a local news station in Kentucky then took off as she picked up jobs at the White House and more. Sawyer’s has been named one of the most influential women for journalism for her many accomplishments.
“ If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are an excellent leader”(Editors”). This quote, by Dolly Parton, shows that she lived a hard early life, but her singing dream did come true. Dolly Parton had three pieces that really held her up in life, one was her early life, and another was how her career started, lastly was her career.
Women sports have come a long way, since the days when women were only allowed to watch. “The past three decades have witnessed a steady growth in women's sports programs in America along with a remarkable increase in the number of women athletes (Daniel Frankl 2)” From an early age women were thought to be “Lady Like”; they are told not to get all sweaty and dirty. Over 200 years later since Maud Watson stepped on the tennis courts of Wimbledon (Sports Media digest 3); women now compete in all types and levels of sports from softball to National racing. Soccer fans saw Mia Hamm become the face of Women’s soccer around the world , Venus and Serena Williams are two of the most popular figures in tennis, and Indy car racing had their first woman racer, Danika Patrick. With all the fame generated by these women in their respective sports, they still don’t receive the same compensation as the men in their respective sports fields. Venus Williams, net worth is 60 million dollars; 27 million came from playing tennis (celebritynetworth 4). Her sister, Serena Williams has a tennis...
Michelle Obama is the wife of Barack Obama and has done great things for our country. She is the first black First Lady. In the time she has been the First Lady, she has done many great things. Michelle Obama is a great person who has done so much to help the United States. Michelle Obama’s life was influenced by her early life. Her major accomplishments and contributions to American society, including being the first black First Lady of the United States, helped her earn her place in history as an important African American.
Mary is very active in school activities such as clubs and softball and tennis. She is very coordinated in her sports and also very fast. Mary was just offered a full scholarship to play tennis at State University.
The first thing I noticed after reading The Meaning of Serena Williams: On Tennis and Black Excellence was that the author, Claudia Rankine, portrayed Serena Williams as the human she really is. One way she did this was by not trying to make Serena’s bad moments seem any better than they really were. An example of this is when she is describing events where Serena lost control during a match. After describing an event involving Serena, a line judge, and a lot of profanity, Rankine says, “And in doing so, we actually see her. She shows us her joy, her humor, and, yes, her rage. She gives us the whole range of what it is to be human, and there are those who can’t bear it, who can’t tolerate the humanity of an extraordinary person.” Rankine is
I have not had a single accomplishment that is worth writing about but I feel that my college completion will be one accomplishment that I will be most proud. I feel that I am taking one step forward in life that will make me become a more successful person.
Serena and her sister Venus got steered towards tennis at a very young age. They got home schooled to ensure that they got enough time for practice. Serena’s father introduced her to tennis. He was even her coach during the initial stages. She showed her skill at a very young age. She was once ranked as the #1 player in the under 10 division. She began to play professional tennis in 1995. She broke into the top-100 bracket within a few
During my life I had some accomplishments. But, I will tell you the truth I cannot call them as my great accomplishments. At this point of my life I had the two greatest events. My first event was my high school graduation. The second event, which was the biggest and the most unforgettable was my wedding day.