Serena vs. Venus: How a Photograph Spotlighted the Fight for Equality
Legendary superstar Diana Ross On the court below stood Diana Ross a legendary African-American performer who herself had broken racial barriers As she sang God Bless America the Harlem Gospel Choir swayed behind her in red and blue gowns As the star of the musical trio The Supremes during the 1960s a time of major racial unrest in the United States Ross had been loved by both black and white audiences Before leaving the court Ross embraced a beaming Serena who had made history just two years earlier Just 17 years old then she had won the U S Open women’s singles championship becoming the first black woman since 1958 to win a major tennis tournament Making tennis history was a Williams family affair In 2000 Venus became the first black woman in more than 40
years to win England’s world-famous Wimbledon tournament Tennis officials delighted in the excitement over the Williams sisters tennis match Night tennis in New York under the lights with the world’s top celebrity athletes will provide a tremendous showcase said Arlen Kantarian the chief executive of the U S Tennis Association In fact the match drew 51 percent more TV viewers than the previous year Audiences expected a heroic battle for the trophy They had already seen each Williams sister defeat her opponent in semifinals matches the day before With powerful lenses photojournalists had recorded close-up images of the action on the court Blake had captured the yellow blur of the ball as Serena delivered powerful serves to Martina Hingis of Switzerland Serena scored on every one of her 17 serves in the second set Often Hingis could not even get her racket on the ball Blake photographed Hingis pressing her arm over her face in frustration Praising Serena’s power and strategy after the match Hingis said She played smart She waited for her chances And she hit winners
Serena’s powerful play won out in her semifinal match against Martina Hingis Blake’s lens later found Serena in the audience watching her sister’s semifinals match Again and again Venus slung well-placed forehand shots and powerful backhands at Jennifer Capriati of the United States Capriati was losing and Blake photographed her during a break with a towel over her head cradling her face Later Capriati admitted that Venus had made her work so hard that she ran out of gas Together the sisters had made history by reaching the finals as African
Americans But facing each other across the net was a different challenge altogether They had grown up training together and sharing the same bedroom They had shared hotel rooms while traveling to competitions They had even helped each other win games by pointing out the weaknesses of opponents But now only one could have her named etched into the U S Open’s silver trophy Their mother Oracene Price watched from the player’s box wearing pins with each daughter’s name Unable to handle the stress their father Richard Williams had flown home to Florida to avoid watching his daughters play each other Fireworks burst into the dark sky from the top of the roofless stadium Venus in white and Serena in yellow each took a side of the court Microphones soon caught the sisters grunts as they served balls at well over 100 mph 160 kph Blake’s lens caught their faces tensed with the effort They were well-matched and viewers enjoyed their exciting volleys In the second game of the match the sisters tied four times and struggled for the winning point after reaching deuce ALWAYS CHANGING TECHNOLOGY Reuters photographer Mike Blake right covered the 2016 election campaign
