Black Women Rank High in College Tennis

N E W   Y O R K, Feb. 11 -- For the first time in intercollegiate history, five black women rank in the top 20 of American college tennis. All five are roughly the same age — and thus from the same generation — as Venus and Serena Williams. Venus is 23, Serena 22.

The rise in African-American women's college players has been sudden. Ten years ago, the NCAA ranked not a single African-American woman in the top 100. Five years ago, it was the same: zero.

Now, they are among the cream of the sport.

Raquel Kops-Jones of Fresno, Calif., ranks No. 2 in the country. She plays for the University of California at Berkeley. Alexis Gordon of Windsor, Conn., plays for the University of Florida and ranks sixth in the United States.

Megan Bradley of Columbia, Mo., who plays for the University of Miami, ranks 11th. Shadisha Robinson of South Ozone Park, N.Y., from the University of Georgia, ranks 12th. And Jennifer Magley of Bradenton, Fla., ranks 16th. Like Gordon, Magley attends the University of Florida, the nation's top-ranked college team.

It's been nearly 50 years since Althea Gibson burst from the streets of Harlem to win the French (1956) and U.S. titles (1957-58), Wimbledon (1957-58), and reach the finals of the Australian championships (1957).

Now, in step with the success of the Williams sisters, a small but determined class of talented young black women is competing at the highest levels of intercollegiate tennis.

Does Race Matter?

Does race matter in college tennis?

"For me, I don't see it," says Kops-Jones, who won the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in October in Los Angeles, making her the first African-American to win a women's collegiate singles title at the NCAA Division I level.

"[Race] could be there, but I don't have issues with it," she said.

Still, Kops-Jones, who is 22, said the Williams sisters provide inspiration: "The way they carry themselves on and off the court. They're well respected. They have changed the game of tennis."