With Coach Venus In The Building, These Young Tennis Titans Can’t Lose
“Howdoyou make yourself more comfortable when you’re feeling out of place?” a preteen audience member named Sudi asked, gazing adoringly at one of her tennis role models who was sitting a mere 20 feet away.
“I’ve been in places where I knew I wasn’t wanted. And I was able to do it with a smile because I was prepared,” replied Venus Williams, tennis champion and author of upcoming wellness-focused book “Strive: 8 Steps To Find Your Awesome,” that’s set to drop on Sept. 10. “So if you feel like you’re in a place where there’s no one that looks like you, just prepare yourself. When I came to the court, I knew I could swing that racket — and that no one could do it better. So I didn’t have to say anything because my racket did all of the talking.”
Sudi and her peers, New York City middle school girls for whom tennis is life, were invited to the event hosted by Dove, who partnered with Black Girls Tennis Club for an in-person tennis experience with Williams. During the first hour, the girls were on the edge of their seats, gleaning advice and encouraging words from an icon they’d only seen slay on-screen. Alongside Williams on the panel moderated by speaker and makeup artist Dre Brown was Virginia Thornton, co-founder of Black Girls Tennis Club, a quickly expanding nonprofit that aims to provide Black girls with tennis instruction and support.
The conversations throughout the event zoomed in on confidence and community — and how the latter could help boost the former for female athletes of all ages. The vibes immaculately matched Dove’s overall mission of ageless body positivity.
The impetus for the partnership was new evidence that 45% of girls globally drop out of sports by age 14 — twice the rate of boys — with body confidence being the primary reason, according to research privately conducted by the company in 2023. The launch of a new tennis-inspired soap bar aims to raise awareness of the Body Confident Sport program, a scientifically backed set of coaching tools developed (in partnership with Nike) to build body confidence in 11-to-17-year-old girls.
The girls in the audience spoke candidly to Williams and Thornton about the anxiety they felt on and off the court related to not just their game, but how to deal with the judgment they perceive based on their bodies and presence in athletic spaces. In response, Williams shared the discomfort she witnessed her sister Serena experience throughout the earlier stages of her career.
“People had a lot to say about her body shape, which at the time was not a popular body shape. Now it’s extremely popular. Everyone wants it,” Williams said, pausing to absorb the girls’ giggles. “But at the time, people were saying that this isn’t the right type of body.”
Williams reflected on the hard road her sister faced in sports because of all the unnecessary body criticism. “But no matter what they said, it didn’t stop her from winning Wimbledon again and again and again and again.” Ultimately, Williams said, the wins solidified her confidence and she began to drown out the haters. That’s what persevering and surrounding yourself with community will award you, she promised the Gen Alpha tennis newbies: nonstop wins, on and off the court.
