Kristi Tredway - Social Activism in Womens Tennis

Analyzing the key players and political moments in womens professional tennis since 1968, this book explores the historical lineage of social activism within womens tennis and the issues, expressions, risks, and effects associated with each cohort of players.

Drawing on original qualitative research, including interviews with former players, the book examines tenniss position in debates around gender, sexuality, race, and equal pay. It looks at how the actions and choices of the pioneering activist players were simultaneously shaped by, and had a part in shaping, larger social movements committed to challenging the status quo and working towards increased economic equality for women. Taking an intersectional approach, the book assesses the significance of players from Althea Gibson and Martina Navratilova to Venus and Serena Williams, illuminating our understanding of the relationship between sport, social justice, and wider society.

This is important reading for researchers and students working in sport studies, sociology, womens studies, and political science, as well as anybody with an interest in social activism and social movements. It is also a fascinating read for the general tennis fan.

Kristi Tredway is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, USA.

Critical Research in Sport, Health and Physical Education

How to Make a Difference

Edited by Richard Pringle, Hkan Larsson and Gran Gerdin

Soccer and the American Dream

Ian Lawrence

Social Justice in Fitness and Health

Bodies Out of Sight

Laura Azzarito

The World Anti-Doping Code

Fit for Purpose?

Lovely Dasgupta

Deleuze and the Physically Active Body

Pirkko Markula

Capitalism, Sport Mega Events and the Global South

Billy Graeff

The Nordic Model and Physical Culture

Edited by Mikkel B. Tin, Frode Telseth, Jan Ove Tangen and Richard Giulianotti

Sport and Mediatization

Kirsten Frandsen

Social Activism in Womens Tennis

Generations of Politics and Cultural Change

Kristi Tredway

For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/sport/series/RRSCS

Generations of Politics and Cultural Change

Kristi Tredway

First published 2020

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2020 Kristi Tredway

The right of Kristi Tredway to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record has been requested for this book

ISBN: 978-0-367-41671-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-81562-2 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear

This book is dedicated to Rosie Casals who has saved me more than once. First, she was my coach when I was a professional tennis player, helping this working-class, half-American Indian kid hone my athletic skills on the court and develop social skills off the court. Arriving at her tennis court the first time as a cocky and self-absorbed 18-year-old, she told me: You will never accomplish anything until you learn how to work hard. (When she asked me what my goals were that first day, I am certain that I rolled my eyes, thinking that it was so obvious, of course, given that I thought I was a gift from the goddesses to womens tennis, and said: Im going to be number one in the world. Its then that this response from her came.) Rosies statement has stuck with me still, guiding my ambition and my work ethic. She crafted me into a person who belonged in the middle class, and in a historically white and upper-class sport, despite my upbringing. Second, after I blew out my knee, which ended my tennis career, she told me: Go to college until you figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life. Reluctant at first, I became the first person in my family to attend, and, ultimately, graduate from college, solidifying, really, my newfound positioning in the middle class. And, finally, Rosie was my gatekeeper for this study, providing me with access to players that I would not have had without her, along with sending supportive emails that I was doing good work. Thanks Rosie! You are the best! I owe you everything!

I want to begin by acknowledging two people who saw me begin this work, but did not get to see me finish. My mom and my grandfather passed away too soon to see me earn a PhD and to see this book go into publication, and far, far too soon for me as a person. I miss them both terribly. I thought that with losing them, and my grandmother over 20 years ago, that I would lose my American Indian identity in some way, but I have not. They are still with me, along with all that they taught me.

First and foremost, I want to thank the current and former players who gave me their time for interviews. I continually found encouragement with their interest in my questions, and hence this project. These players include: Rosie Casals, Judy Tegart Dalton, Chris Evert, Julie Heldman, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Andrea Petkovic, Kristy Pigeon, Pam Shriver, Sam Stosur, Renee Stubbs, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams, and many others through press conferences. Without their input, this project would not have been possible. I also want to thank the tournaments and organizations that gave me press credentials for this project: The Family Circle Cup (now the Volvo Cars Open), the Western & Southern Open, the Citi Open, Greenbrier Champions Tennis Classic, and the Washington Kastles. Also, Courtney Nguyen, Ben Rothenberg, and Nick McCarvel deserve a big shout-out for showing me the ropes when I first arrived in the press room.

Thank you to Simon Whitmore at Routledge who saw the value in this book project on sport and social activism. Rebecca Connor, and previously Cecily Davey, were excellent at liaising between Simon and me while also keeping me focused on the end product. I want to also thank Anika Parsons for her keen editorial eye throughout this manuscript and Emma Critchley for her management of this project from edits to proofs.

I have been influenced by many different professors while a student at the University of Colorado and the University of Maryland. Most notable, though, are three people: Alison Jaggar, Vine Deloria, Jr., and Patricia Hill Collins, arguably the greatest feminist philosopher, American Indian scholar, and scholar of intersectionality, respectively, that the world has known. A commonality among Jaggar, Deloria, and Collins is that their work, both in teaching and writing, is epistemically inclusive of various ways of knowing, along with an understanding of the power attached to whose knowledge is counted or not, what political and cultural issues are on the horizon, seeing the interconnections between many different social groups and political and cultural concerns, and a sense of social justice, in that the work is important and needed in peoples everyday lives, not just in academic circles. The work is not for accolades, though those have come anyway because their work is excellent, but for offering compassion, understanding, and possible solutions to people. The strength of these three for me is that they pushed me beyond intellectual levels that I did not know were possible. I am far greater as an intellectual for having been their student. The hard part for me now is becoming a scholar who is worthy of this lineage, and, if not becoming, at least continually trying to become that scholar.