Blacks at the Net: Black Achievement in the History of Tennis, Volume Two »

Sundiata Djata teaches African and African American sports history at Northern Illinois University. He has been published in the Journal of Caribbean Studies, Business and Society Review, Drum, and Sankofa.

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 South African apartheid, using sports 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.

Illustrations     ix
Tables     xi
Acknowledgments     xiii
Introduction     xv
Yannick Noah: "Saga Africa"     1
Africa above the Kalahari     19
South Africa     52
Evonne Goolagong: Emerging from Down Under     85
The Caribbean and South America     96
Ronald Agenor: Making a Career on His Own     110
Image and Style: Is Image Everything?     117
Advertising and the Black Tennis Professional: Reaching Madison Avenue     135
Racial Identity: "Black and What!"     168
Obstacles to Blacks in Tennis     179
Conclusion: Visions of Hope     202
Notes     211
Glossary     239
Bibliography     241
Index     257