Top 10 best black female tennis players | Why are they famous?
Who are the best black female tennis players? Obtaining global acknowledgement in any profession is not an easy achievement. These top 10 best black female tennis players have become legends because of their unmatched skills on the court.
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Who are the two black sisters that are tennis players? Venus and Serena are known worldwide for being the best female players in tennis. However, other top black female professional tennis players have made us proud, as explained below.
Top 10 best black female tennis players and why are they famous
Who is the best African American tennis player? Black women are breaking gender and racial bias in all expert fields. These black female professional tennis players have made impressive accomplishments and received awards or recognition for their remarkable skills.
1. Ora Mae Washington (January 23, 1898 to 1971)
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Who was the first female black tennis player? Born in Virginia, the 1st famous female black player was Ora. Playing in the American Tennis Association from 1924 to 1937, Ora was referred to as the Queen of Tennis for her outstanding performance.
Ora is famous for winning 8 ATA National Crowns in women’s singles (1929-1936), was the women’s doubles winner during 1925–1936, and won mixed doubles championships in 1939, 1946, and 1947. Five years after her demise, she was inducted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame.
2. Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927 to September 28, 2003)
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Born in South Carolina to two sharecroppers, Athlea Gibson is famous for being the first African American athlete to cross racial borders and play multicultural tennis competitions when she participated in the US National Championships held in New York City in 1950.
In 1956, Neale became the 1st coloured person to win a French Open’s Grand Slam title. She won a total of 11 Grand Slam tournaments during her career. Besides, she was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.
3. Zina Garrison (Born in 1963)
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Zina Lynna Garrison started professional tennis playing in 1982 after becoming the International Tennis Federation Junior of the Year 1981. She is among the top black tennis players for being the 1st African American woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Althea Gibson.
Zina won gold and bronze during the 1988 games in Seoul. She is also known for 14 wins and a 587-270 record in singles and 20 wins in doubles. She also won the 1987 Australian Open and 1988 1990 Wimbledon tournaments. She retired from playing tennis in 1997 and is now a TV commentator.
4. Sloane Stephens (Born 20 March, 1993)
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Sloane from Plantation, Florida, is the child of Sybil Smith (the first black female in the first-team All-American swimmer in division I's history) and John Stephens (footballer for the New England Patriots team).
Sloane Stephens became a pro tennis player in 2007. In the 2013 Australian Open, at the age of 19 years, Ms. Stephens beat Serena Williams, the then-number 3 ranked player! Super-impressive, right? She won the US Open Grand Slams Singles in 2017 against Madison Keys.
5. Cori Gauff (Born 13 March, 2004)
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One of the famous young black tennis players female is Atlanta-born Cori Gauff. Inspired by Serena Williams in the 2009 Australian Open when she was only 4 years old, Cori is famous for being the youngest player to be ranked by Women's Tennis Association in the top 100.
Cori's debut in the women's circuit was in 2018. She is also one of the famous female tennis players for beating Venus Williams in the 2019 Wimbledon opening round and was ranked 51 in 2020.
6. Katrina Adams (Born August 5, 1968)
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Katrina joined a tennis program when she was only 6 years old. In 1987, together with her partner Diane Donnelly, she won the National Collegiate Athletic Association doubles title. Adams was on two occasions voted All-American.
Besides her expertise in the field, Katrina is famous in the tennis sport for being the first Black, youngest, and famous professional tennis player to become President, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the US Tennis Association in 2015.
7. Taylor Townsend (Born April 16, 1996)
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Taylor Townsend is one of the black female tennis players who cannot go unmentioned. She won the 2012 Australian Open junior tournament, making her the second American to attain this and the first one since 1982.
The Chicago native won the Grand Slam title for the US Open and Wimbledon junior tournaments before making her professional debut in 2010 when she was only 14 years old. Taylor made it to the top 100 WTA ranking in 2015 and reached her career-high ranking of World Number 64 in 2017.
8. Venus Ebony Starr Williams (Born June 17, 1980)
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From California, Venus became a tennis pro when she was 14. Venus, Serena Williams' older sister, is the only female tennis player to win 4 professional gold medals at the Olympics. She was once ranked top in both singles and doubles.
Her record includes 23 Grand Slam titles (14 doubles, 7 singles, and 2 mixed-doubles), 5 Wimbledon titles, and WTA tour victories. She won the ESPY Best Female Athlete award (2002).
9. Naomi Osaka (Born 16 October, 1997)
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Besides the renowned African-American female tennis players, Naomi Osaka from Chuo Ward, Osaka, Japan, cannot miss here. She is a Japanese and Haitan sports lady who became among the top 50 in tennis in 2016.
The child of Leonard Francois and Tamaki Osaka beat Serena Williams during the 2018 US Open. She was ranked the number 1 female player in singles in 2019.
10. Serena Jameka Williams (Born 26 September, 1981)
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Who is the best black tennis player? Born in Michigan, Serena Jameka Williams ranks 1 in this list of famous African-American tennis players. She started playing in 1985 and became a professional about 10 years later.
Serena tops in the WTA Tour Championships, U.S Open, Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the female's Olympics. She has 4 Olympic medals and twenty-three Grand Slams in singles. Overall, she has the most major titles for active male and female tennis players.
These best black female tennis players prove that gender and race should not prevent one from becoming who they want. Beyond their beautiful faces and skorts, they became household names for their unmatched skills in tennis. Who is your favourite? Share with us in the comments below.
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