Jewish Tennis Players
This list of Jewish athletes in sports contains athletes who are Jews and have attained outstanding achievements in sports. The criteria for inclusion in this list are:
- 1–3 places winners at major international tournaments;
- for team sports, winning in preliminary competitions of finals at major international tournaments, or playing for several seasons for clubs of major national leagues; or
- holders of past and current world records.
Bold face denotes current competitor.
The topic of Jewish participation in sports is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature, because of the perceived role of sports as a historical avenue for Jewish people to overcome obstacles toward their participation in secular society (especially in Europe and the United States).
Read more about Jewish Tennis Players: Commissioners, Managers/coaches and Owners, Jewish Olympic Medalists, Jewish Sports Halls of Fame
Famous quotes containing the words tennis players, jewish, tennis and/or players:
“I know some of my self-worth comes from tennis, and it’s hard to think of doing something else where you know you’ll never be the best. Tennis players are rare creatures: where else in the world can you know that you’re the best? The definitiveness of it is the beauty of it, but it’s not all there is to life and I’m ready to explore the alternatives.”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“The exile is a singular, whereas refugees tend to be thought of in the mass. Armenian refugees, Jewish refugees, refugees from Franco Spain. But a political leader or artistic figure is an exile. Thomas Mann yesterday, Theodorakis today. Exile is the noble and dignified term, while a refugee is more hapless.... What is implied in these nuances of social standing is the respect we pay to choice. The exile appears to have made a decision, while the refugee is the very image of helplessness.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)
“[My one tennis book] was very, very old. It had a picture of Bill Tilden. I looked at the picture and that was how I learned to hold the racket.”
—Maria Bueno (b. 1939)
“The whole idea of image is so confused. On the one hand, Madison Avenue is worried about the image of the players in a tennis tour. On the other hand, sports events are often sponsored by the makers of junk food, beer, and cigarettes. What’s the message when an athlete who works at keeping her body fit is sponsored by a sugar-filled snack that does more harm than good?”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)