Serena and Venus were part of some of the most important matches in women’s tennis history. Hailing from a Black African-American background, the duo also faced mixed reactions from fans around the world.

On that note, let’s take a look at five occasions when Serena Williams and Venus Williams faced racism and distasteful comments during their careers.

5) Indian Wells 2001: Match fixing allegations against Venus and Serena Williams

The 2001 incident involving Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters at the Indian Wells tournament in California will go down in history as one of the most controversial incidents during a tournament. The Williams sisters were scheduled to face each other in the semifinals, but Venus pulled out of the contest five minutes before the match. Not only did the crowd express disappointment at the last-minute decision by Venus Williams, but they also accused the Williams sisters of match-fixing.

When 19-year-old Serena came out to compete against Kim Clijsters in the final, the whole stadium heckled, booed and racially abused the American using the N-word. Serena Williams recalled the unfortunate instance and said in an interview (via Scroll):

“I remember the whole stadium was 99 percent white people and they were all booing. Racial slurs used, it was loud, it was like an echo, it was so loud I could feel it in my chest.”

Richard Williams, her father and full-time coach, also addressed the incident and explained how it could have taken an ugly turn had he not kept his composure.

“When Venus and I were walking down the stairs to our seats, people kept calling me nigger. One guy said, ‘I wish it was ‘75; we’d skin you alive. That’s when I stopped and walked toward that way. Then I realized that my best bet was to handle the situation non-violently. I had trouble holding back tears. I think Indian Wells disgraced America,” Richard Williams said via USA Today.

Venus and Serena Williams boycotted Indian Wells for more than 15 years on the women’s tour. However, they returned to the event in 2018 to a standing ovation from the California crowd at Indian Wells.

4) Ilie Nastase’s unacceptable comment on Serena Williams’ 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 Olympia’s skin tone

Before the birth of Olympia (Serena’s first daughter), Romanian tennis player and former world No. 1 Ilie Nastase left a nasty comment about their unborn child (via Scroll):

“Let’s see what color it is, Milk Chocolate?” Nastase said, criticizing the child’s father Alexis Ohanian, who comes from a white background.This comment was criticized by the tennis association. Serena Williams also addressed this situation on her Instagram account and said:

“I am disappointed to know that we live in a society where people like Ilie Nastase can make racist comments about myself and my unborn child as well as discriminatory comments gender to my peers.”

3) “Hit the net like a Negro would” – Racist comment from a spectator at the 2007 Miami Open

In 2007, Serena Williams squared off against Lucie Safarova in the third round of the Miami Open. She breezed past the Czech player in straight sets and eventually went on to win the tournament.

However, during her match against the Czech, Williams faced a racist comment from a spectator. An unknown person harassed the American throughout the match and was finally asked to leave the arena. He was handed over to the Miami Dade Police on charges of misconduct.

Serena Williams addressed the situation after her match and felt shocked that a spectator was allowed to make such remarks during a match.

“Hit the net like a Negro would’,” Serena Williams told reporters.”The guy was saying things that shouldn’t have been said. It was derogatory. Then every time I missed a shot or serve, he would say, ‘That’s the way to do it. It was outrageous. I couldn’t believe what he said,” she said.”I was shocked. I had to do a double take. I think I hit a double fault at that point. Who says these things outside of first grade. At a professional venue you don’t do that. It was shocking, I couldn’t believe he would stoop to that level,” Willams said.

2) Facing a barrage of online abuse after winning the 2012 Wimbledon Championships

Serena Williams was known for her elite s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁-set and dominant game on the grasscourts of Wimbledon. She captured seven titles at the iconic venue, second to Czech-American legend Martina Navratilova, who clinched nine titles.

After her 2012 final win over Agnieszka Radwanska, Serena faced a barrage of online harassment. The critical culture, gender and race studies department at Washington State University amassed a compilation of unsavory tweets from the media and tennis fans as Serena captured her fifth title at the Wimbledon Championships.

Here is a list of the insensitive tweets made against Serena Williams:

“Today a giant gorilla escaped the zoo and won the women’s title at Wimbledon… oh that was Serena Williams? My mistake”

“Serena Williams is a gorilla”

“Watching tennis and listening to dad talk about how Serena Williams looks like gorilla from the mist”

“I don’t see how in the hell men find Serena Williams attractive?! She looks like a male gorilla in a dress, just saying!”

“You might as well just bang a gorilla if you’re going to bang Serena Williams”

“Earlier this week I said that all female tennis players were good looking. I was clearly mistaken: The Gorilla aka Serena Williams”

“Serena williams looks like a gorilla””Serena Williams is half man, half gorilla! I’m sure of it”

“Serena Williams look like a man with tits, its only when she wears weave she looks female tbh, what a HENCH BOLD GORILLA!”

“Serena Williams is a gorilla in a skirt playing tennis #Wimbledon””My god Serena Williams is ugly! She’s built like a silver backed gorilla”

The head of the Washington governing body, Dr. David J Leonard, reflected on the tweets made against Serena Williams and said that the American had to deal with racist comments throughout her career.

“The racism raining down on Serena’s victory parade highlights the nature of white supremacy. … her career has been one marred by the politics of hate, the politics of racism and 𝓈ℯ𝓍ism,” Dr. David Leonard wrote.

1) President of the Russian Tennis Federation calls Serena and Venus Williams brothers because of their colour and physique

 

Lastly, Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpischev made an offensive comment against the Williams sisters on a Late Night TV show in 2014. His remarks were described as ill-mannered, 𝓈ℯ𝓍ist and racist as he called the Americans ‘Williams brothers’.

Not only was Tarpischev banned by the WTA for a year, but he was also fined $25,000. The Russian pleaded his innocence and issued a public apology to the 23-time Grand Slam champion, but Serena Williams wasn’t too pleased with his choice of words.

She looked back at the situation and said (via CNN):

“I think the WTA did a great job of taking initiative and taking immediate action to his comments. I thought they were very insensitive and extremely 𝓈ℯ𝓍ist as well as racist at the same time.”“But the WTA and the USTA (U.S. Tennis Association) did a wonderful job of making sure that – in this day of age, 2014 for someone with his power, it’s really unacceptable to make such bullying remarks,” Williams added.

Serena Williams’ fierce rival Maria Sharapova, who participated in the Russian Fed Cup team captained by Tarpischev, also addressed the comments made about the Williams sisters.

“I think they were very disrespectful and uncalled for, and I’m glad that many people have stood up, including the WTA,” Sharapova said. “It was very inappropriate, especially in his position and all the responsibilities that he has not just in sport, but being part of the Olympic committee. It was just really irresponsible on his side,” she added.

Venus Williams and Father Richard recall one match that 7-time Grand Slam champion “should have won”