“She used to sleep in the car, she wasn’t welcome” – Serena Williams gets emotional about Althea Gibson being a victim of racism

Business Leaders Speak At FII InstituteSerena Williams during the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Getty Images)

As the iconic sibling duo of Serena Williams and Venus Williams once again came together, this time for their own podcast, “Stockton Street,” the former remembered the late tennis player Althea Gibson. Serena reflected on the challenging life of the five-time Grand Slam title winner while highlighting the racist treatment she faced.

Amid their conversation over multiple topics, Venus remembered the legendary player’s historic feat when she broke tennis’ color barrier by participating in the 1950 U.S. National Championships (now US Open). After making her first Grand Slam tournament debut, Gibson clinched her first Major title at Roland Garros in 1956. She went on to bag the US Open title twice in 1957 and 1958. 75 years after Gibson’s debut, the Williams sisters were present at the Arthur Ashe Stadium to launch their new podcast.

When asked how she would have felt in Gibson’s place, Serena stated that it would have been very tough to be a Black player in a white-dominated sport. The 23-time Major Grand Slam Singles winner further highlighted Gibson’s struggle, requiring her to sleep in the car the day before her competition as she wasn’t welcome anywhere.

“That would have been really hard for me because I’m a hot head because you are around people, and nobody looks like you,” Serena said. “Everyone is white in this industry in the 50s, all the players, and it’s also a shock for them and they are probably not the most warm and most welcoming…she wasn’t welcome.”

“In some tournaments, I know she used to sleep in the car because there was no other place, and can you imagine sleeping in the car and you have a match the next day?”

Serena and Venus won six and two US Open titles, respectively.

Serena Williams opens up on growing up on the street, after which she and Venus Williams named their podcast

Venus Williams and Serena Williams attend HISTORYTalks in Washington, DC. (Photo by Getty Images)Venus Williams and Serena Williams attend HISTORYTalks in Washington, DC. (Photo by Getty Images)

Serena Williams and Venus Williams named their podcast “Stockton Street,” where their home was located in Compton, California. In the first episode of the podcast, they reflected on their origin and highlighted how it made them mentally stronger as they dealt with a lot of negativity.

“I think being from Stockton Street and being from Compton, California really gave us, you know, this mental fortitude that we needed as we headed into our careers and like we were saying that, um, we really had to be strong and we really had to be stronger than the next person because there was, there was a lot of negativity out there,” said Serena. (5:30 onwards)

Serena Williams and Venus Williams won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together.