Unscripted Featuring SERENA the Sports Mount Rushmore
Unscripted By Keith Edmonds
Ink Spot Contributing Writer
Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.”
~Serena Williams
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota is widely known for its granite enshrinement of four of US presidents namely George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt. Their images are forever immortalized as arguably the greatest presidents that we’ve ever known in our history. Though that can (and has been) disputed, one thing that cannot be disputed is that Mount Rushmore symbolizes greatness in its purest form and entirety and is a standard by which any other people that assume the position of US presidency occupies.
Using Mount Rushmore as a premise, I started thinking about what a Mount Rushmore of sports would look like if there was ever one built and 4 sports figures almost immediately came to mind for me. Today begins a 4 part series for me recognizing the 4 individuals that I feel should be given strong consideration for the sports version of Mount Rushmore because of their unquestioned greatness and sheer dominance of their peers and rivals.
For me, Serena Williams is a great place to begin the argument for the Mount Rushmore of sports simply because her story is not one that includes instant success, or having numerous resources around her made available because of “well to do” parents, or people of influence. Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard and Oracene Williams. The youngest of five daughters, Serena began playing tennis at the age of four and showed early on a propensity that with continued hard work, greatness would be in her future. She always strived for perfection, no matter what the cost, and under the shrewd guidance of her father and the steadying influence of her mother, showed that she was destined for greatness. When the family moved to Compton, California, Serena’s father became her first coach, and trained them in a tough gang-infested environment simply because he wanted to expose his daughters to the “ugly possibilities of life if they did not work hard and get an education." In this setting, (on courts that were full of potholes and sometimes missing nets), Serena worked on the game of tennis and the requirements for persevering in a tough climate. Richard found out that she was a fierce competitor and possessed skills that were far beyond those of her age group. With constant work and a passion for the game, she developed her game and added an overpowering serve that would eventually become the trademark of her game.
By 1991, (at the age of 10) Serena was 46-3 on the junior United States Tennis Association tour and ranked first in the 10-and-under division. It was at this time that her father knew that something special for her (and sister Venus) was on the horizon and once again moved the family, this time to Florida for better training facilities and instruction. As a fan I began to pay closer attention to tennis (especially on the women’s side) simply because I enjoy reading and hearing the stories of the “Williams’s sisters” and their remarkable rise to the top of the tennis world. Their style of play and athletic ability, along with their grace and look on the courts changed whatever perceptions that not only I had, but those that watched sports in general.
With her signature style of dress and play, Serena changed the look of tennis. She literally overwhelmed opponents, and quickly made her name known as an up-and-coming force in the tennis world. The thing that set Serena apart from her peers was that she always had an unbelievable confidence in herself. No matter what obstacles or opponents she faced, she always knew that she could overcome them. This self-confidence is something that Serena instilled in herself is one of the main reasons for her success.
After turning professional in 1995 just two years later, Serena was already No. 99 in the world rankings — up from No. 304 just 12 months before. A year later, she graduated high school and almost immediately signed a $12 million shoe deal with Puma. Serena quickly began dominating the women’s circuit at a rate that had never been seen before defeating established stars and modern contemporaries at a rate that made the WORLD take notice. In 2002, Serena won the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon, (defeating sister Venus in the finals of each tournament). She won her first Australian Open in 2003, making her one of only six women in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam. The win also fulfilled her desire to hold all four major titles simultaneously to comprise what she'd dubbed "The Serena Slam."
After winning numerous individual tournament titles, a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles, (beginning in 1999 with the U.S. Open title), 3 Olympic Gold Medals, and unquestioned international acclaim, Serena expanded her brand into film, television, and fashion. She developed her own Aneres line of clothing, and in 2002 People Magazine selected her as one of its 25 Most Intriguing People. Essence magazine later called her one of the country's 50 Most Inspiring African Americans and upon her retirement this past summer her career accomplishments, overall dominance and influence on the game of tennis, and her ability to overcome the racial tension that followed her successes, makes her more than worthy as having a place on the Mount Rushmore of Sports!