Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.
During a time when racial unrest was at its height in 2020, walking into a room and asking for major changes in a predominantly white sport—on the court and in the boardroom—would have made anyone shutter. But not for Nicole Kankam.
The United States Tennis Association’s managing director for marketing boldly spearheaded the organization’s very first social justice campaign, “Be Open,” at the 2020 U.