Thank you, Serena

I've been loving Serena Williams for a long time now. Ever since the 90s, when she and her sister Venus came on the pro tennis scene and changed the game forever, with their fierce play, take-no-crap father, and clickity-clack beaded braids announcing to the stuffy, mostly white tennis world, "We are here, we're going to win, we're doing it our way, and nothing is going to stop us."

I watch tennis because of Serena. She is the best tennis player ever, and I doubt we will see another player like her in my lifetime. And she achieved it all while also bearing weight of - and slaying - the racism and sexism that follows her no matter how far her star rises. 

I would love to know what it's like to be her, to occupy a body, mind and soul that has perfectly combined hard work, talent, and the desire to be the best. I can think of no other body as beautiful, as perfect as hers. I can think of no other tennis player as exciting to watch.

But Serena and her sister are so much more than tennis. For over two decades they have been an inspiration to girls and women everywhere, and especially to Black girls and women - tennis fans or otherwise. This article sums it up well.

Why Serena Williams is the definition of #BlackGirlMagic 

Read the whole article, but this: 

Before Beats By Dre and Nike were clamoring for her endorsement, or she was posing for paparazzi photos with Kim Kardashian, millions of black women knew and loved  'Rena, ReRe or "my girl," their terms of endearment for Serena Williams.

Serena, in all her #BlackGirlMagic glory, was first worshipped by the legions of girls and women who saw themselves in the determined, hardworking and charming phenom from Compton, California. It's these women who are among those cheering the loudest for Serena, because for them, she has already won.

They scream for her on and off the court because her magazine covers, Instagram posts and images of her with braids, beads, wearing catsuits or bikinis, are a different kind of victory for the woman many of them consider the epitome of beauty and excellence. For them, looking at Serena Williams is like looking into a mirror that affirms their own bodies and skin color.

As a white woman, I can only imagine the depth of that soul connection, given my own hard-core fandom. I remember sitting my daughter and son down in front of the television in the 90s to watch young Serena and Venus play - wanting them to see themselves in Serena's and Venus's authenticity and fierce talent. To have them drink in, whether they played tennis or not, "This can be you. You can do anything you set your mind to." And, maybe most important, "You don't have to lose yourself to find greatness. Do you. Stay true."

#Blackgirlmagic.

Thank you, Serena. You may have lost the US Open and your four-Grand-Slams-in-a-season dream for this year, but for millions of your fans, you remain our champion and shining star.

Watch this video, Serena Williams - Rise. It may be a commercial, but it says it all.