by Ahmed Olayinka Sule, CFA
For being the personification of Black Pride and Black Excellence,
We say thank you.
For being yourself and not letting others define you,
We say thank you.
For acting as a rallying point for Renas Army worldwide,
We say thank you.
For making black women walk with their heads held high,
We say thank you.
For making black girls believe the sky is not the limit,
We say thank you.
For providing seed capital to black and brown women-led start-ups,
We say thank you.
For snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by winning three Grand Slam singles titles after saving match points,
We say thank you.
For making us open our mouths wide after serving four straight aces at the 2012 Wimbledon final,
We say thank you.
For defying the ageing process by winning ten Slams after the age of thirty,
We say thank you.
For defying biology by winning the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant,
We say thank you.
For defying medicine by overcoming depression, a calf injury, hematoma pulmonary embolism and still prevailing,
We say thank you.
For painting lily-white tennis black,
We say thank you.
For enabling us to see the world,
We say thank you.
For dispelling the lies of white supremacy about the inferiority of the black race through your domination of Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon
and New York,
We say thank you.
For your advocacy for ending domestic violence; ensuring equal pay, and highlighting a colour-biased disparity in maternal death,
We say thank you.
For extending your tentacles beyond tennis into the realms of fashion, activism, philanthropy, acting, and finance,
We say thank you.
For being the Greatest of All Times and The Best Ever,
We say thank you.
For being the Queen of Aces, the Queen of the Court and the Queen of our hearts,
We say a very Big
THANK YOU.
August 2022
© Ahmed Sule
