I have profound new respect and admiration for tennis star Naomi Osaka after the recent stand she took on the latest controversial shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer. Just hours after scratching out a quarter-final victory in the prestigious Western & Southern Open, Osaka announced she would not play in … More Naomi Osaka: A new profile in courage
I want to give a high five and a fist bump to former WTA player Leslie Allen for her rebuke of a recent statement released by the United States Tennis Association during the surge of protests ignited by the brutal killing of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis cop. The death of Floyd … More USTA omits its past in statement on race
When I heard that Cecil Harris had another book on black tennis coming out, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Once I did, I was not disappointed. The 243-page book, Different Strokes: Serena, Venus, and the Unfinished Black Tennis Revolution, was everything I had hoped for and pleasantly more. Harris puts … More New book puts fresh spin on black tennis
For more than two decades, Robert W. Johnson Jr. presided over the instruction at the tennis boot camp in the back yard of his legendary father’s Lynchburg, Va., home. In 1955, he teamed with his dad to win the National Father and Son Doubles Championship. On July 4, Johnson will join his dad, Dr. Robert … More Robert Johnson Jr. heads 2020 BTHF class
At the beginning of the 2020 Australian Open tennis tournament, Rajeev Ram held a streak he was elated to see broken at the end. Ram had competed in 57 ATP major men’s doubles tournaments without ever making it to a final. In his 58th event, he and Britain’s Joe Salisbury not only reached the final … More For Rajeev Ram, the 58th time is a charm!
Serena’s early exit. Coco’s big win. Another Sloane slump. Or Donald Young’s plunge into obscurity. Any one of those storylines could have been suitable for a blog on the 2020 Australian Open from a black perspective. But I chose to focus on Taylor Townsend, a 23-year-old Chicago-born lefty, who reached the second round of the … More Taylor Townsend finding her groove
Ever since he posted a comment on my blog page under the moniker “Mr. Tennis,” I have wanted to interview Wilbert (Bill) Davis, winner of 11 American Tennis Association national championships. But it wasn’t so much his tennis accomplishments that caught my interest, as it were the principles he began to adopt that day in … More ATA legend finds code to live by in tennis
It has been a pleasure watching Chanda Rubin grow as an analyst on Tennis Channel. She adds a wonderful blend of insight and perspective to the network’s match commentary. Yet, as I tried to connect Rubin’s keen knowledge of the rigors and nuances of professional tennis with her own career, I realized I had forgotten … More BTHF deserves award of its own
At the conclusion of the 2017 US Open Women’s tennis championships, I wrote about a young phenom who had just competed in the girls title match. Her name was Cori “Coco” Gauff, and she was 13. Let me repeat that: She was 13! The youngest girls’ finalist ever. At the time, I was struck by … More Coco’s Wimbledon run a preview of what’s to come
In 2004, Gael Monfils won the first three of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments – Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon – and finished the year as the top-ranked junior in the world. Later that year, he gave fans good reason to salivate over his star potential when he reached the quarterfinals of his … More Gael Monfils: From Wakanda With Love
Promoting the growth of tennis in communities of color.
A daily selection of the best content published on WordPress, collected for you by humans who love to read.
The Art and Craft of Blogging
The latest news on WordPress.com and the WordPress community.
TennisintheHood 