What the US Open can Teach HR About Bias, Boundaries, and Black Women’s Success

Jan 20
4 min read

Sports often mirror workplace dynamics. Tennis, in particular, a sport with rigid codes of decorum and deeply policed boundaries, offers a striking lens through which to understand bias in corporate America. Recent events involving Taylor Townsend and Naomi Osaka reveal lessons HR leaders can’t afford to overlook.

The Townsend–Ostapenko exchange at the US Open and Osaka’s return to competition after childbirth underscore how bias shapes assumptions about Black women’s competence, boundaries, and resilience. These same forces operate in the workplace, where despite clear records of talent and achievement, Black women are still required to prove themselves twice over while others are granted the benefit of the doubt.

Boundaries and Respectability Politics

After defeating Jelena Ostapenko, Taylor Townsend was not critiqued for her tennis but for her “lack of class” and supposed “lack of education.” Townsend herself named this critique for what it was: coded language that echoes a long-standing stigma attached to Black communities.

In corporate life, this mirrors respectability politics, the demand that Black women conform to unspoken rules of behavior, tone, and demeanor in order to be deemed “professional.” This expectation is not neutral. For Black women, asserting boundaries, refusing unfair treatment, or showing visible emotion often triggers labels such as “difficult,” “angry,” or “uncooperative.”

The cost of setting boundaries becomes disproportionately high, forcing Black women to constantly navigate between authenticity and survival in predominantly white workplaces.

Capability and Life Transitions

Naomi Osaka’s openness about motherhood and postpartum depression should have been met with recognition of her courage and humanity. Instead, skepticism abounded about her ability to return to elite competition. When similar life changes occur in others, they are often reframed as evidence of resilience or celebrated as inspirational.

The same double standard thrives at work. Data from Lean In and McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace study reveals that while Black women ask for promotions at the same rate as men, they are promoted at dramatically lower rates; just 58 Black women for every 100 men. Nearly half of Black women report believing their race makes advancement harder; only 3% of white women share that view.

This is not about ambition or ability. It is about bias in how capability is assessed, and who is believed to be deserving of opportunity.

The Workplace Connection

These parallels between the court and the office point to a core truth: assumptions about competence, professionalism, and commitment are shaped less by performance than by stereotype.

For HR leaders, the implications are urgent:

Challenge coded bias. Question feedback that relies on vague terms like “not professional,” “not polished,” or “not the right fit.” Ask: is this about performance, or is it a projection of stereotype?
Normalize boundaries. Value recovery, rest, and life transitions, whether they involve parenthood, health, or personal boundaries; as integral to sustainable careers, not liabilities.
Measure equity with data. Track promotions, pay, and advancement opportunities by race and gender. Where Black women lag, don’t assume lack of readiness, assume systemic bias until proven otherwise.

Strategies for Navigating Disrespect and Bias

Black women facing disrespect, skepticism, or barriers in professional spaces can draw on proven strategies to protect their well-being and assert their boundaries, both individually and collectively.

Addressing Disrespect and Bias

State clearly when behavior is unacceptable and reframe the conversation if the reaction, not the disrespect itself, becomes the focus.
Challenge biased assumptions and advocate for self and others, signaling that microaggressions will not be normalized or excused.
Recognize workplace gaslighting for what it is: a tactic designed to make people doubt their lived reality. Naming it is a powerful act of resistance.

Setting and Communicating Boundaries

Use direct “I” statements to clarify needs and outline consequences if boundaries are crossed.
Resist pressure to accept every new project or request; asking for workload prioritization is not weakness, it is professionalism.
Anticipate stereotypes like the “angry Black woman” and reframe boundary-setting as essential to productivity, health, and organizational success.

Self-Care, Support, and Resilience

Prioritize well-being through exercise, sleep, and outside interests that sustain balance.
Lean on mentors, peer networks, and affinity groups for affirmation and perspective.
Take cues from athletes like Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles, who modeled that stepping back when needed is not failure, it is strength, and it reshapes cultural norms around vulnerability.

Collective Actions and Advocacy

Encourage allies to take responsibility for calling out bias, shifting the burden from individuals to workplaces.
Push for systemic changes: transparent promotion criteria, mentorship programs, and leadership accountability for listening to Black women’s experiences.

Black women should not have to carry the entire burden of dismantling biased systems. But by prioritizing boundaries, embracing self-care, and advocating for themselves and others, they continue to redefine what strength, leadership, and resilience look like in both the workplace and society.

Redefining Success

Townsend and Osaka remind us that Black women continue to excel while navigating skepticism, scrutiny, and doubt. In workplaces, this same pattern persists: performance shines, but recognition lags. Excellence should not require a double standard.

HR’s charge is not to demand more from Black women, but to demand more from organizational systems. Respect should not be conditional. Boundaries should not be conflated with disrespect. And success should not come tethered to disproving bias at every turn.

Bias may be persistent, but it is not permanent. With intentional action, HR leaders can reframe the workplace so that respect, recognition, and advancement are not exceptions granted sparingly, but expectations built into the system itself.