The Naomi Osaka Serena Williams Saga | A star is born and a star continues to shine.
Brilliant athlete, formidable opponent, outspoken advocate of equality for women in sports, blazing role model, but also entitled brat?
No matter what you think of Serena’s outburst, one thing is undeniable – as a black woman growing up in a neighbourhood notorious in the ‘90s for gang activity and drug related crime, she has overcome more than her fair share of racism and misogyny, inspiring many a young tennis talent, minority or otherwise. One of them is a young woman on the other side of the net: Naomi Osaka.
Finding herself playing against her childhood tennis idol, whose poster she used to have hanging on her bedroom wall, she set aside all the drama of the unprecedented happenings at the 2018 US Open women’s final.
This was her time to shine, and shine she did, making history as the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles final.
Naomi was calm, composed, focused and above all, kept her emotions in check. Showing a maturity well beyond her twenty years, she drowned out the noise and the restlessness of the crowd and concentrated on what she was there to do: play good tennis and win.
As she said during her post match press conference:
“When I step on the court, I am not a Serena fan; I am a tennis player playing another tennis player. When I hugged her at the net, I felt like a little kid again.”
In fact, during the same press conference she responded to the mostly inane and sometimes sexist questions with great aplomb and humour.
It is a pity her historic win was overshadowed by the drama played out on court, and when she stood on the podium she could no longer hold back her tears and offered an apology to the fans in the stadium for taking the win away from their idol. Serena being the great champion she is, hugged Naomi and urged the crowd to stop booing and celebrate Naomi’s win. Serena realising that she should not rob this talented young woman of her moment in time, let her true grace show.
Yes, Serena broke a couple of rules and was penalised; it is the umpire’s job to uphold these rules whether we as her fans agree or not. She may not have noticed her coach signalling her during the match, something he has admitted, and she denies she would ever be a party to. Some may argue that Serena’s reaction stems from a sense of entitlement, but what if it comes from a place of deep-rooted misogyny and double standards that have prevailed in the world of sport?
Serena plays with raw power and agility; she is relentless and takes no prisoners. It is this singlemindedness and drive that has at times elicited extreme emotional reactions during a number of matches in the past. It is this passion that refuses to accept any form of injustice being meted out to female athletes. It is this conviction that rejects the double standards in tennis that she would have seen her own idols suffer in the past, the injustice she herself has had to endure during her career, and the injustice she sees her own peers experiencing even in this day and age.
As Serena herself said during her post match press conference:
I have seen men call other umpires several things. I’m fighting for women’s rights, for women’s equality and for all kinds of stuff. For me to say ‘thief’, for him to take a game, made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He has never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief’.
It blows my mind, but I’m going to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to be equal, like [Alizé] Cornet should be able to take off her shirt without getting a fine. This is outrageous!
I feel like the fact that I have to go through this is an example for the next person that has emotions, and wants to express themselves, wants to be a strong woman. She’s going to be allowed to do that because of today. Maybe it did not work out for me, but it’s will work out for the next person.”
Call it what you will, Serena is a strong woman who does not compromise her principles; she is a force to be reckoned with, and will continue to fight for what she believes to be right no matter what criticism and accusations are thrown at her.
Trending: Naomi Osaka Serena Williams Saga, Naomi Osaka Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka vs Serena Williams 2018, Naomi Osaka A star is born, Serena Williams continues to shine, Serena Williams tennis idol, Serena Williams 2018 US Open women’s final, first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam final, Naomi first grand slam, Serena Williams post match press conference, Naomi post match press conference, Serena Williams penalised, Serena Williams fighting for women’s rights, Serena Williams for women’s equality, Serena Williams thief, Serena Williams criticism, Serena Williams accusations
Also read…Serena Williams Praised By Golf Legend Tiger Woods Ahead Of The US Open 2018 Women’s Final
Comments are closed.