So Amira Rose, do you remember the first time you watched Serena Williams play tennis?

That's a great question.

I don't know if I remember the first match, but I remember the moment in which I knew

that Serena and Venus were in existence in my world.

All of a sudden we had the US open on or the Australian open on and it became this event

to make sure we were there and witnessing and supporting and cheering on these black girls

in the Lily White sport.

Amira Rose Davis is an assistant professor of black studies at the University of Texas

Austin and co-host of the Feminist Sports Podcast, Burn It All Down.

I know for me one of the things I really latched on to was the beads in their hair.

I rocked beads all through my childhood and it was just like, oh that's what representation

looks like to have beads in a space where there was none and still have the confidence and

the audacity and the swagger to just rock your hair in the way you want to and not to kind

of conform yourself to this space.

Amira Rose followed Serena Williams as she won 23 grand slam titles and four Olympic gold

medals.

She watched Williams endure attacks based on her race and femininity and she also saw

her survive a difficult pregnancy that threatened to derail her career.

And it wasn't until high school college where I started really watching their matches

and understanding playing style and all of that but what preceded all of that was just

their kind of cultural impact on me and my family and the community.

This month in an essay in Vogue magazine, Williams announced her retirement from professional

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