File #: Res 1474-2000    Version: * Name: Congratulating Venus & Serena Williams
Type: Resolution Status: Adopted
Committee: Parks, Recreation, Cultural Affairs, and International Intergroup Relations
On agenda: 7/27/2000
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution congratulating Venus and Serena Williams for their outstanding performances at Wimbledon and commending them on helping to change the game of tennis.
Sponsors: Mary Pinkett, Wendell Foster, Archie W. Spigner, Pedro G. Espada, Julia Harrison, Lloyd Henry, Karen Koslowitz, Margarita Lopez, Helen M. Marshall, Bill Perkins, Lawrence A. Warden, Michael J. Abel, June M. Eisland, Sheldon S. Leffler, Guillermo Linares, Stanley E. Michels, Michael C. Nelson, Jose Rivera
Council Member Sponsors: 18
Res. No. 1474 Title Resolution congratulating Venus and Serena Williams for their outstanding performances at Wimbledon and commending them on helping to change the game of tennis. Body By Council Members Pinkett, Foster, Spigner, Espada, Harrison, Henry, Koslowitz, Lopez, Marshall, Perkins, Warden and Abel; also Council Members Eisland, Leffler, Linares, Michels, Nelson and Rivera Whereas, The Williams Sisters, Venus and Serena, are helping to change the face of tennis with their individual styles, ceaseless determination and insatiable thirst for winning Grand Slam tournaments, most recently at Wimbledon; and Whereas, Venus Williams joined her sister as a Grand Slam singles title holder when she beat Lindsay Davenport in two straight sets (6-3 and 7-6) to capture the prestigious women's singles event at Wimbledon; her sister Serena won the women's singles event at the U.S. Open just last year; and Whereas, Following Venus Williams' victory, the Williams sisters paired up against Ai Sugiyama and Julie Halard-Decugis in the women's doubles title and demonstrated their dominance by defeating their opponents in two sets (6-3 and 6-2); and Whereas, Upon emerging victorious from the doubles round, the Williams sisters captured their third Grand Slam doubles title, having won the U.S. Open and French Open in 1999 and together the sisters have won two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles apiece; and Whereas, The sisters, who now hold a total of nine Grand Slam championships, can be the greatest of partners or the fiercest of competitors, depending upon the order of the day, and both have their eyes on becoming the Number One ranked player in the world; Venus is currently ranked Number Three and Serena is ranked Number Seven; and Whereas, Venus and Serena Williams consistently amaze tennis fans and have attracted countless other fans to the sport of tennis by virtue of their focused intensity, impeccable skills and commendable sportsmanship; and Whereas, Venus Williams became only the second African-American woman in Wimbledon history to capture the women's singles event, with tennis great Althea Gibson winning the title back in 1958; and Whereas, Venus and Serena Williams, 20 and 18 years old respectively, were raised in Compton, California, where they were coached by their father Richard Williams; and Whereas, The Williams sisters, like barrier-breaking Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe before them, have defied the odds to become among the best tennis players in the world, and they have done so with grace, pride and dignity; and Whereas, Venus and Serena Williams have become great African-American role models, having brought higher recognition to African-Americans in tennis and they have continued the path of contemporary pioneer athletes like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York congratulates Venus and Serena Williams for their outstanding performances at Wimbledon and commends them on helping to change the game of tennis. MW:bg LS#3295 7/19/00 |1013| - 2 -