Coco Gauff recounts her racist experience involving Venus and Serena Williams after Christopher Eubanks’ confession
Coco Gauff shares amusing racist autograph incident amidst career highs.
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Coco Gauff (Image Credits: AFP)
Coco Gauff, a rising American tennis star, continues to create waves on and off the court, with her latest triumph at the Citi Open in Washington highlighting her talent and tenacity. Aside from her athletic accomplishments, Gauff has used her strong social media presence to address critical problems such as racism, and she recently shared a comical yet poignant incident with her admirers.
Despite her exceptional achievements, Gauff has not been immune to the hurdles that Black tennis players encounter. Racism has been a constant in her life, and she has dealt with it head-on. Gauff took to Twitter to share an entertaining but telling experience in which she was mistaken for other Black tennis players while signing autographs.
She shared her light-hearted mix-ups in a tweet, recounting situations where she was confused with the famed Williams sisters, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams, as well as being mistaken for Leylah Fernandez. The incident is made much funnier by the fact that Leylah Fernandez is of Canadian, Filipino, and Ecuadorian descent, making the mix-up even more humorous.
Jessica Pegula, Gauff’s doubles partner, also chipped in, revealing her own experience of being mistaken for Coco Gauff by an autograph-seeking fan. The experiences recounted shed light on the challenges faced by tennis players, who are frequently praised for their talent yet occasionally fall victim to mistaken identities. Even Christopher Eubanks, fellow American tennis player of Gauff, had a racism story of his own, which he shared.
Racism in tennis: A deep-seated issue
In a previous interview as well, the world No. 6 discussed how being a Black woman brought particular challenges. In the second round of Citi Open, she faced Hailey Baptiste, another black player. Gauff stated her delight about playing against Baptiste, emphasizing the importance of their presence on the tour.
“I’m excited to play Hailey because when I was little there weren’t a lot of black women in the lower categories. We had to deal with a lot of challenges you might not know about. For us, being here on the circuit today means a lot,” she remarked.
Several occurrences over the years have shown the existence of racism in the tennis world. Among the notable examples are:
- In 2018, an Australian newspaper produced a cartoon depicting Serena Williams in an exaggerated and racially offensive manner during her heated confrontation with the umpire at the US Open.
- Althea Gibson, the first Black woman to win a Grand Slam title, experienced racial prejudice and segregation during her 1950s career. At times she was restricted entrance to certain competitions and lodgings.
- Tatiana Golovin made a racially offensive joke about Serena Williams on a French radio interview in 2008, saying that her success was due to her “being Black.”
- Former tennis player James Blake was attacked and handcuffed outside a New York City hotel by a plainclothes police officer in 2015. The event generated debates regarding racial profiling and the use of disproportionate force.
These incidences shed attention on the systematic racism that still exists in tennis. While the sport has taken attempts to address these challenges, such as initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion, more effort is required to establish an environment in which all players may compete without fear of discrimination.
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