Taylor Townsend shares experience of racial profiling and being mistaken for other black players

World No 74 says she has repeatedly been mistaken for Sloane Stephens, Coco Gauff or one of the Williams sisters and has experienced additional security checks that white players do not always face

American tennis player Taylor Townsend has revealed that she is frequently mistaken for other black female players on the WTA circuit, and finds herself having to pass additional security measures that aren’t applied to other players of a different colour.

The world No 74 expressed her concerns in relation to the Black Lives Matters movement, which has seen several protests take place worldwide following the killing of unarmed African American George Floyd, who died while in police custody in Minnesota last month.

Sports athletes have joined the protests and support for racial equality, with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Raheem Sterling and Coco Gauff joining dozens in speaking out in the wake of Floyd’s death.

Townsend added her voice to those protests, and in speaking in a Tennis United video, the Chicago-born player revealed the experiences that she had on the tour that echoed the everyday struggles that black people have to endure.

"Everybody sees a black person and they assume that it's Venus or Serena (Williams) or Sloane (Stephens)," Townsend said.

"I've been literally all of them down the list except for myself."

She added: "I've had people argue with me to tell me that I'm Coco Gauff. I'm not Coco Gauff but all of us look the same, all of us are built the same."

The 24-year-old, who hit a career-best ranking of No 61 three years ago and reached the fourth round of last year’s US Open, went on to explain that she finds herself facing checks that her white counterparts don’t always go through, and hopes that by expressing her experiences she will help people to “open your eyes” to the everyday racism that is not always seen by others.

"Even from the aspect of, you walk through and nobody stops you, and I'm walking through and somebody has to check my bag, check my credential, check my coach's bag, check my coach's credential,” Townsend added.

"It's extra security, extra precautions that need to be taken to make sure that I belong.

"This is our reality. It happens all the time - week in, week out, every tournament that I play in the States, overseas, it doesn't matter.

"It's not going to change. Hopefully, this (Black Lives Matter protests) just creates a safe space and an awareness for people to want to talk about it.

"Not to be uncomfortable, not to cringe. To be able to be open-minded, understand and really kind of open your eyes, take yourself out of it and try to put yourself in someone else's shoes."

Fellow black player Frances Tiafoe joined the support for the Black Lives Matter movement by posting a video on social media, which included Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Gauff, showing himself and girlfriend Ayan Broomfield putting down their racquets and raising their fists to “spread awareness about the unjust deaths of many African-Americans".

It followed a passionate speech made by Gauff last weekend in which the 16-year-old spoke of her “sadness” at fighting the same battles that generations before her experienced.

Speaking at a Black Lives Matter protest in her hometown of Delray Beach, Florida, Gauff said: "We must first love each other, no matter what. I have spent all week having tough conversations and trying to educate my non-black friends about how they can help the movement.

"Second, we need to take action. I am not of the age to vote - it is in your hands to vote for my future, my brothers' future and for your future so that is one way to make change.

"Third, you need to use your voice no matter how big or small your platform is, you need to use your voice.

"I saw a Dr (Martin Luther) King quote that said the silence of the good people is worse than the brutality of the bad people.

"It breaks my heart because I'm fighting for the future for my brothers. I'm fighting for the future of my future kids. I'm fighting for the future of my future grandchildren."