While much has been written about black triumphs in boxing, baseball, and other sports, little has been said of similar accomplishments in tennis. In this final volume of his ambitious and thorough examination of black achievement in international tennis, Djata comprehensively fills that gap. Exploring the discrimination that kept blacks out of pro tennis for decades, he examines the role that this traditionally white sport played in the black community and provides keen insights into the politics of professional sports and the challenges faced by today’s black players.
Drawing on original and published interviews, life writings, and newspaper articles, Djata offers an in-depth look at black participation in tennis in Europe, Africa,Australia, and the Caribbean. The author investigates how black African players broke through the color barrier of the South African apartheid, using sport to gain international sympathy in the face of oppressive discrimination. Djata’s wide-ranging history includes Aboriginal Australians and a chronicle of Yannick Noah’s racial identity in the eyes of the French and the world.
May 2008
