When Venus and Serena Williams first came to international prominence, they immediately redefined tennis.
These were two black girls from Compton in California – a place Serena has said she's proud to have called home – but it's also a city made famous by rap group N.W.A whose lyrics highlight gang violence, police brutality and violent crime in the neighbourhood.
With the exception of Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who in 1971 became the first Aboriginal person to win the women's singles tournament at Wimbledon, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that tennis had been mostly lily white.
It was an elitist sport. Blonde ponytails, trim physiques, branded sweatbands, oodles of privilege. (And where there was privilege, there were also plenty of explosive tantrums.)
Venus and Serena attracted attention not only because of their powerful serves and superb athleticism, but due to the beads they wore in their hair, the fact their hair was braided, the outfits they chose to don, and the fact they were proudly and unapologetically black.
In the process, the Williams sisters put their own unique stamp on popular culture.
They were so good they made finals and won tournaments for fun. The pair were so dominant in the early 2000s that they faced each other in four consecutive grand slam finals.
As a doubles pair they were exceptional, winning 14 grand slam titles and three Olympic gold medals.
Tennis attracted a whole new legion of fans – people who had previously thought the sport wasn't for them.
Lori Latrice Martin is one of those people. She's a professor in the Department of African and African American Studies at Louisiana State University. Her areas of expertise include Sociology of Sport.
She didn't really follow tennis until Venus and Serena came on the scene and she remembers that time well.
"Once I was introduced to Venus and Serena and their father, Richard Williams," Professor Martin said.
"And heard their confidence at such a young age about the skill sets that they have, the talent that they have, the work ethic that they have, and just their commitment to being successful, it was really infectious.
"You couldn't help but want to cheer them on and see them succeed."
In the biographical film King Richard, Mr Williams (Will Smith) coached a young Serena (Demi Singleton) and Venus (Saniyya Sidney) on public courts in Compton where they spent hours practicingbefore the family moved to Florida so that the sisters could attend a tennis academy.
Professor Martin said it instilled great pride in her to see representation on the tennis court once the girls had made a name for themselves and seeing the family unit and 'black love' was something she and a lot of people in the community could identify with.
"They had a lot of influence on how people who were watching, especially black girls, and black women and black men as well, on how they saw themselves," she said.
"They represented what black people already knew that just given the opportunity to show how good you are at anything, you can flourish, and it helps to motivate the entire community and even folks outside of the community."
At 30 years old, Shawn Grant is too young to have witnessed the rise of the Williams sisters from the beginning of their ascendancy, so they've always loomed large as significant cultural figures in his world.
Grant is a senior editor of The Source Magazine and writes about hip-hop music, culture, politics, and sport.
"I was coming of age and understanding and really assessing what was going on in the sports world when they really started to run off titles," Grant said.
"And it was such an impressive thing to see them together in doubles tournaments."
Grant said there had long been gatekeeping around tennis, which Serena and Venus shattered by creating "a new lane".
"I grew up in Chicago," he said.
"So, for me, the iconic figures of that time were all black.
"I wouldn't have paid attention to tennis without Venus and Serena.
"I also think I wouldn't have paid attention to golf without Tiger Woods. So, I would say to finish off that Mount Rushmore of black excellence for me at that time, it was those three and then Michael Jordan."
Grant said the Williams sisters never bought into attempts to try to diminish them. As an example, he cites the controversial cartoon published by the Herald Sun which was subject to an investigation after it drew complaints from around the world.
He said the Williams sisters have transcended sport into a level of celebrity that's taken their brand worldwide, but they've also shown people what's possible if you really want something and have the work ethic to achieve it.
"They are the embodiment of beautiful, black, strong, self-confident women with their own identities in this white world," Grant said.
"And I think they broke stereotypes to say 'we can not only come here and beat your ass, we can do it in a way that we're comfortable and give off this style and expression that we have'.
"I truly think they're literally a walking phenomenon."
