推己及人

When Venus and Serena Williams began their miraculous runs in the late '90s， it was a story for a number of reasons. They were brash teenage sisters with beaded braids， and they were bigger and stronger than neady every woman who had ever played the game. As the 2000s progressed and the Williamses began trading off Grand Slam championships， it became clear the sisters could go down as two of the game's greatest players. But even now， in the waning stages of their careers， when the conversation usually turns toward enshrinement among the all-time greats， Venus and Serena have never been able to fully escape the anomaly of their race.

當維納斯·威廉姆斯和賽琳娜·威廉姆斯在上世紀90年代末期所向披靡時，人們競相研究他們能夠取得成功的原因。留著鄰家女孩般灑脫的頭發、穿著大膽前衛的連衣運動裙，這兩姐妹無論走在哪里，都要比球場對面的那個女對手看上去更高大強壯。然而隨著時間的進程，“黑珍珠”旋風也終有威力降低的那一天。21世紀的最后幾年，傷病情況、狀態波動、年齡增長在逐漸減弱著姐妹倆的狂暴旋風，也終于有對手能夠在賽場上挑戰他們的統治地位。但是，沒有人會否認他們之前所取得的成就，尤其是將這些成就與背景聯系起來，更值得關注商榷。

I grew up playing tennis in the heart of black Atlanta， at a tennis center whose staff， coaches， and regular players were all black. In every black tennis center in the city， before the Williams revolution， there was always a picture hanging of Arthur Ashe. Once the sisters burst on the scene， these centers replaced their dated photos with action shots of Venus and Serena， hitting monstrous serves， their beads flying everywhere. For many black families across the city， tennis officially became the new athletic \"meal ticket.\" They became heroes for black kids like myself， and convinced a lot of us (for better and often for worse) that we would make it to the pros. While I， thankfully， escaped the post- Williams sister homeschooling revolution that took place among my preteen black peers， I still had moments when I was convinced that， with enough practice， I could be the next great black player to shake up the otherwise white tennis world. Within our community， my peers and I were being celebrated as the next young black generation of tennis stars.

我從小在亞特蘭大黑人區長大，也在那里接受到最初的網球訓練。我們的場地中，無論教練、工作人員還是我這樣的學員都是清一色的黑皮膚。在威廉姆斯姐妹成功前，我們在每一個專門給黑人運動員打網球的地方都會看到亞瑟。阿什的照片，時刻提醒我們他是第一位獲得大滿貫冠軍的黑人網球運動員。而90年代后，阿什的照片就被威廉姆斯姐妹在各種場合的照片所取代，無論是他們在賽場中揮舞球拍的鏡頭還是球場下漫步悠然的身影。這股運動潮流直接改變了黑人家庭對于人生觀的看法，大家不再只把籃球和橄欖球當作那些天賦異稟運動員的唯一出路，打網球增添了另外的陌生方式。就像我當年以阿什為榜樣一樣，那時的小孩處處向威廉姆斯姐妹看齊。很慶幸我沒有像他們那么瘋狂熱衷于崇拜偶像之中，但是我的確也受到了不少影響。……