One of the most acclaimed movies of this past award season was, without a doubt, King Richard. The film, starring the now-controversial Will Smith, tells the story of Richard Williams and how he did the impossible to position his daughters Venus and Serena at the top of tennis. Fighting against racism, classism, and sexism, Richard’s strict and passionate ways managed to give his girls the sporting status he knew they were capable of.
Today, the iconic Williams sisters are considered amongst the best female tennis players in the world, but way before them there was another powerful duo of black sisters who wowed audiences at the courts and took tennis by storm. Sadly, their story wasn’t as successful as the Williams’ still, they’re considered the key pieces that paved the way for young black tennis athletes. This is the story of Margaret and Matilda Peters, best known as ‘Pete’ and ‘Repeat.’
Born in the Georgetown district of Washington D.C. in 1915 and 1917 respectively, Margaret and Matilda Peters took the tennis world by storm at a very early age. Similar to the Williams sisters, Margaret and Matilda started playing tennis at the park across their streets. Their strength and ability to connect each shot made them stars from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Going professional
Although the girls were quite passionate about tennis and undoubtedly had a unique talent for the sport, both Margaret and Matilda were also dedicated, students. It was while in high school when that talent would be discovered by a tennis coach from the Tuskegee Institute. Cleve Abbott decided to offer the Peters sisters a four-year scholarship for college to impulse their tennis careers. Margaret was to start early, but being as close to her sister as she was, decided to wait two years for Matilda to finish high school so both of them could share the same experience.
In 1937, the Peters sisters moved to Tuskegee where they kept working on their tennis skills while also trying other sports like basketball. Naturally, it was clear that tennis is what they excelled at, and soon, were offered to play at tournaments by the African American Tennis Association (ATA).
Margaret and Matilda graduated from college in 1941 in physical education while they kept amazing at every single tournament with their unique talent. In 1942, they made the headlines of the Afro-American Newspaper after winning four consecutive doubles titles. From this day on ‘Pete’ and ‘Repeat’ became national sensations.
Playing for celebrities
After graduating from college, Margaret and Matilda kept playing in the amateur tennis league of the ATA. This meant that although they were filling courts with people lining up to see them, they didn’t make that much from their sport. Also, they had to buy their equipment and pay for their tournament entry fees and travel expenses. Still, the economic sacrifice gave them personal satisfaction; they won 14 doubles tennis titles from 1938 to 1953.
Their tennis dexterity took them everywhere even to the Caribbean where they played before British royalty! But that wasn’t it, celebrities would also attend their amateur tournaments just to see them play. One of the Peters sisters’ biggest celebrity fans was no other than the iconic Gene Kelly. It’s said that during WWII, the actor was stationed at a Navy Base near Washington D.C. where the sisters were playing. He was amazed by their skills and would even drop by to practice with them when they were in town.
A great talent limited by racism
All this sounds idyllic and we could even say that they had a very similar origin story to the Williams sisters. However, we could say the big difference was that Margaret and Matilda were born at the wrong time.
As mentioned, the Peters sisters played at the ATA, the oldest black sports organization in the country. But as the name indicates, this was the only platform black tennis players had. Established in 1916, the ATA was the only way exceptional tennis players had to play ‘professionally;’ still, that was it, there was no chance to grow from here, as segregation rules forbid black athletes to compete in white tournaments.
Also, it didn’t matter how great the athletes were, like the Peters sisters, there was no way of making a living from the ATA tournaments. They might gain popularity, but money wasn’t something they could reach for. Still, Margaret and Matilda seemed to be enjoying their fame; they would pose for newspapers and sign autographs for both black and white fans who queued for hours to be able to see them play.
With the civil rights movement in the 60s, little by little, segregation rules started to be a bit more permissive, but it was too late for the Peters sisters. They were already in their thirties and moving to a more professional level would mean starting from scratch. Like many talented black athletes, the ATA was the top they were able to reach.
Playing doubles, Margaret and Matilda won 14 championships, a record that not many have reached. Matilda also played singles and won two ATA titles in 1944 and 1946.
Matilda’s daughter, Fannie Walker Weeks, once said “my father always said that they just came along at the wrong time, but they were happy with their lives. They were happy with what tennis did for them.” Not that long after they retired, Althea Gibson would become one of the first African American tennis players to cross the ‘color line’ of international tennis. While she’s considered a true pioneer, Margaret and Matilda’s prowess became old history.
The last of ‘Pete’ and ‘Repeat’
For the Peters sisters, the game was over, but that didn’t stop them. Margaret moved to New York to get a master’s degree in physical education. She moved back home to Washington D.C. and worked as an educational teacher. Years later, she got a second master’s degree in special education in Baltimore. She never married nor had children; Margaret devoted her life to education. She passed in Washington in 2004.
Matilda followed her eldest sister’s path and also got a master’s degree in physical education at New York City University. She did marry and had two children. While still rocking at the courts, Matilda became a college teacher in the fifties at Howard University, and from 1964 to 1981, she became a teacher at the Washington Public School System. For Matilda, tennis was a true passion and she devoted most of her life to teaching tennis to the underprivileged children of her state. She died one-year earlier than Margaret, in 2003.
The Peters sisters, ‘Pete’ and ‘Repeat,’ or simply Margaret and Matilda, like many other black athletes in the US, never got a chance to demonstrate their talent without the concealing walls of all-black tournaments. Had they been able to play against white tennis players, they might’ve had reached the legendary status of Venus and Serena Williams.
