Seeing Serena

Seeing Serena
Author: Gerald Marzorati
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2022-06-14
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1982127899

A riveting, revealing portrait of tennis champion and global icon Serena Williams that combines biography, cultural criticism, and sports writing to offer “a deep, satisfying meditation” (The New York Times) on the most consequential athlete of her time. There has never been an athlete like Serena Williams. She has dominated women’s tennis for two decades, changed the way the game is played, and—by inspiring Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauff, and others—changed, too, the racial makeup of the pro game. But Williams’s influence has not been confined to the tennis court. As a powerful Black woman who struggled to achieve and sustain success, she has emerged as a cultural icon, figuring in conversations about body image, working mothers, and more. Seeing Serena chronicles Williams’s return to tennis after giving birth to her daughter—from her controversial 2018 US Open final against Naomi Osaka through a 2020 season that unfolded against a backdrop of a pandemic and protests over the killing of Black men and women by the police. Gerald Marzorati, who writes about tennis for The New Yorker, travels to Wimbledon and to Compton, California, where Serena and her sister Venus learned to play. He talks with former women’s tennis greats, sports and cultural commentators—and Serena herself. He observes Williams from courtside, on the red carpet, in fashion magazines, on social media. He sees her and writes about her prismatically—reflecting on her many, many facets. The result is an “enlightening…keen analysis” (The Washington Post) and energetic narrative that illuminates Serena’s singular status as the greatest women’s tennis player of all time and a Black woman with a global presence like no other.

On the Line

On the Line
Author: Serena Williams
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2009-09-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0446564028

One of the biggest stars in tennis, Serena Williams has captured every major title. Her 2009 Australia Open championship earned her the #1 world ranking for the third time in her illustrious career - and marked only the latest exclamation point on a life well and purposefully lived. As a young girl, Serena began training with an adult-sized racquet that was almost as big as her. Rather than dropping the racquet, Serena saw it as a challenge to overcome-and she has confronted every obstacle on her path to success with the same unflagging spirit. From growing up in the tough, hardscrabble neighborhood of Compton, California, to being trained by her father on public tennis courts littered with broken glass and drug paraphernalia, to becoming the top women's player in the world, Serena has proven to be an inspiration to her legions of fans both young and old. Her accomplishments have not been without struggle: being derailed by injury, devastated by the tragic shooting of her older sister, and criticized for her unorthodox approach to tennis. Yet somehow, Serena always manages to prevail. Both on the court and off, she's applied the strength and determination that helped her to become a champion to successful pursuits in philanthropy, fashion, television and film. In this compelling and poignant memoir, Serena takes an empowering look at her extraordinary life and what is still to come.

Different Strokes

Different Strokes
Author: Cecil Harris
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2020-02-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 149621465X

The days of tennis as a country club sport for the aristocracy have long passed, as have the pre–Open era days when black players faced long odds just to be invited to the four Grand Slam events. An entire generation of sports fans has grown up seeing Venus and Serena Williams as the gold standard in American professional tennis. Although the Williams sisters have done more than any other players to make tennis accessible to a diverse population, it’s not as if the tennis revolution is over. When you watch tennis next, take a close look at the umpire, the person sitting in the high chair of authority at courtside. Look at the tournament referee and the tournament director, the officials who run the tournament. In those seats of power and influence, blacks are still woefully underrepresented. Different Strokes chronicles the rise of the Williams sisters, as well as other champions of color, closely examining how African Americans are collectively faring in tennis, on the court and off. Despite the success of the Williams sisters and the election of former pro player Katrina Adams as the U.S. Tennis Association’s first black president, top black players still receive racist messages via social media and sometimes in public. The reality is that while significant progress has been made in the sport, much work remains before anything resembling equality is achieved. Watch a book trailer.

Giving Up the V

Giving Up the V
Author: Serena Robar
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2009-06-09
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1416995064

Spencer “Responsible” Davis is nowhere ready to “give up the V,” as opposed to her hormonally crazed crew of friends, obsessed with the who-what-when-where-how of it all. “It” being . . . well, you get it. Even Spencer’s male friends, who claim to have expertise in the matter, offer their services to help relieve her of that pesky letter, much to her embarrassment. But when new-kid Benjamin enters the picture, Spencer begins to rethink her “responsible” moniker, and for the first time she wonders if she’s found just the right guy worth trading in her V-card.

Venus and Serena

Venus and Serena
Author: Venus Williams
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2005
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9780618576531

The tennis superstars talk about their lives, including what it takes to be successful, how they spend their money, dating, studying, and dealing with pressure.

Serena

Serena
Author: Ron Rash
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 387
Release: 2008-10-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0061470856

Penned by an award-winning writer, this Gothic tale of greed, corruption, and revenge is set against the backdrop of the 1930s wilderness and America's burgeoning environmental movement.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams
Author: Merlisa Lawrence Corbett
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2020-02-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1538109670

Record-breaking, trend-setting, polarizing, and controversial, Serena Williams often sparks conversation and debate. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has a team, an entourage, celebrity groupies, and a band of fans who call themselves “Serena’s army.” When not winning titles, Williams finds time to run her own fashion line, endorse luxury and financial brands, and fund schools for girls in Africa and Jamaica. Serena Williams transcends sports. More than a biography, Serena Williams: Tennis Champion, Sports Legend, and Cultural Heroine not only tells the story of her upbringing and remarkable career but also looks at Williams as a sports pioneer. Merlisa Lawrence Corbett explores Williams’ influence on cultural and political issues such as body shaming, gender equality, and racism in sports and society. Corbett also analyzes Williams’ impact on discussions of feminism, the sports celebrity, and the marketing of female athletes. Williams is one of the most intriguing and influential figures in sports, and this book is the first to provide a fully-rounded portrait of a tennis icon.

Serena

Serena
Author: Mark Hodgkinson
Publisher: Ivy Press
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2019-09-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1781319073

Serena Williams is the most successful tennis player – male or female – of the modern, professional era, with more Grand Slams than either Steffi Graf or Roger Federer. Always a fierce competitor, her story – which began on the cracked public courts of Compton, L.A. – is also one of overcoming challenges through sheer determination, drive and talent. In this innovative illustrated biography, Serena's tennis is explored like never before: stunning graphics explore her serving patterns, signature power groundstrokes, and her movement – as well as showcasing her astonishing records, spanning over two decades in the tennis elite. Drawing on conversations with Serena over the course of her career, and on interviews with those closest to her, this is the ultimate celebration of arguably the greatest tennis player of all time and, without question, a true global icon.

Serena Singh Flips the Script

Serena Singh Flips the Script
Author: Sonya Lalli
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2021-02-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 059310093X

"Sonya Lalli's savvy novel puts relationships in all of their forms--family, friends, and romance--on even footing as a young woman works to find happiness."--Shelf Awareness Serena Singh is tired of everyone telling her what she should want--and she is ready to prove to her mother, her sister, and the aunties in her community that a woman does not need domestic bliss to have a happy life. Things are going according to plan for Serena. She’s smart, confident, and just got a kick-ass new job at a top advertising firm in Washington, D.C. Even before her younger sister gets married in a big, traditional wedding, Serena knows her own dreams don’t include marriage or children. But with her mother constantly encouraging her to be more like her sister, Serena can’t understand why her parents refuse to recognize that she and her sister want completely different experiences out of life. A new friendship with her co-worker, Ainsley, comes as a breath of fresh air, challenging Serena’s long-held beliefs about the importance of self-reliance. She’s been so focused on career success that she’s let all of her hobbies and close friendships fall by the wayside. As Serena reconnects with her family and friends--including her ex-boyfriend--she learns letting people in can make her happier than standing all on her own.