Tuesday, 23 November 2010
QUEEN OF THE COURT: Serena Williams
By: Michael Cansenti (Featured Columnist) - Bleacher Report
To some in the tennis establishment, for the world's best to lose her No 1 ranking seems a source of relief. Why would that be?
As the WTA season wraped up with the championships at Doha recently, Caroline Wozniacki, a 20 year old from Denmark, ended the tour ranked #1 in women's tennis – largely thanks to her consistency in winning minor WTA events. For many, Serena Williams, though knocked off the top spot in the rankings and unable, through injury, to defend her 2009 Doha title, remains clearly the supreme player of her generation. But in certain circles of the US tennis establishment, Wozniacki's emergence is seen as a positive development, precisely because it puts Williams "in her place". Chris Chase, a tennis correspondent for Yahoo Sports, for example, has a history of writing hostile commentary about Serena Williams. Recently, he accused Williams of "hyping" her foot injury – despite the fact that a torn tendon had forced her to pull out of all the season's remaining events. And, he writes, Williams' fans should simply "deal with it" if Wozniacki is the new No 1.
ESPN writer Peter Bodo is another long-time critic of the Williams Sisters. Earlier this year, Bodo called the Williams sisters' patrotism "false and self-serving" because they had failed, as he saw it, to make a firm commitment to play for the US squad in the Federation Cup (the WTA tour version of the Davis Cup). And when the sisters again chose not to play the Indian Wells tournament this year, where Venus and her father Richard had been booed and allegedly racially abused following her withdrawal with injury from a match against Serena back in 2001, Tom Gainey of Tennis X said they should get over it. Given this form, the question has to be asked, when has an American-born tennis champion ever been so disrespected as Serena Williams?
One reason why the American tennis establishment resents Serena Williams is because she doesn't make tennis her life. Williams is so superior to other women on the WTA that she can play part-time – and still win two out of the four grand slam singles titles. But some of the establishment's almost palpable relief at Wozniacki's elevation is, frankly, because she's young, white and blonde; and is a physical type that conforms more closely to western stereotypes of female beauty than Williams' highly athletic physique. A female athlete, it seems, is not respected for her hard work and dedication; she still has to be a product on display to sell to heterosexual male consumers – and a dark-skinned, self-willed African American is not the preferred model.
For all her consistency, Wozniacki has never beaten any of the big four: either the Williams sisters, or the Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. Wozniacki has a weak forehand, a lack of variety in her game, and the top elite women have the power to blast her off the court. The fact remains that Wozniacki is just another, relatively anonymous woman player who has reached No 1 without a grand slam title, just as Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina did. The idea that Wozniacki is any kind of "great white hope" is doubly misguided. Recently, Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena,told the New York Times he believes the USTA discourages African American youth from pursuing the sport because they don't want blacks dominating tennis, which is still, culturally, a white sport. That is a view that chimes with the fact that Maria Sharapova is the highest-paid female athlete in the world, despite the fact she's only won three grand slam singles titles – ten less than Serena Williams has. So what is it that the Maria Sharapova or Caroline Wozniacki has that Serena Williams, the greatest champion US women's tennis has ever had, doesn't? Tennis ability has nothing to do with it. Prejudice has everything to do with it.
Article by: Orville Lloyd Douglas / Guardian.co.uk (11/14/10)
Kim Clijsters just won the WTA championships, whereas Serena as the defending champion didn't even play. In fact, she hasn't played on tour since Wimbledon and only played six tournaments this year. As a consequence, she lost her No. 1 ranking last month. Today, she fell out of the top three and now rests at No. 4. Will she ever again be at the top of the rankings?
Looking at her results this year, it is clear that she can still play. Two Grand Slam victories in three appearances is pretty damn impressive on any standard. She is undoubtedly the fixture and the dominating player of the last decade, but will she continue to be so in the future? Or rather, will she dominate enough to reach the No. 1 spot again? I am in serious doubt about it.
She does perform better at bigger tournaments. With 13 Slam wins in a mere 16 finals, she's almost unbeatable when she can see the finish line. And as her game relies a lot more on her power and her ability to dominate her opponent than her speed, losing half a step in speed doesn't mean as much to her as it does to, say, Roger Federer. She should be more than able to win Slams in the next 2-3 years at least. But the combined challenge presented by the current field seems to be too great for her to do it on a consistent basis and gain enough points throughout the year. At least not with working bees like Wozniacki, Zvonareva and Stosur out on the tour every day.
Wozniacki's consistency requires Serena to either outperform any other player by a large margin in the big tournaments throughout the year or perform much more consistently, and more often, in the lesser tournaments. Is she willing to do that? Can she do that? Or is the opposition to tough, even for the champion of the decade? My prediction, however, is that we'll never see her as the No. 1 again.
While I strongly disagree with the writer's statement that Serena will never be #1 again, you can read the entire article (wherein the writer presents some valid analysis) by clicking on the link below:
Anders Lammers (Contributor) - Bleacher Report
Serena has joined “Buy Life”, a campaign that benefits Alicia Keys’ “Keep A Child Alive” foundation. She is joined by Alicia Keys, Kim Kardashian, Katie Holmes, Willow and Jaden Smith, Usher, Swizz Beatz, Jay Sean, and Ryan Seacrest. The program was created to raise money for children living with HIV/Aids and also provides nutrition, shelter, education and basic needs worldwide.
(Nov 9, 2010) - It was the great Margaret Court who dominated Ladies tennis prior to the ‘open era’ back in the sixties, but she was soon forgotten as Ladies tennis became far more competitive once prize money (and lots of it) became available. The seventies and eighties was shared almost ‘down the middle’ between two legends of the women's game, Chris Evert from the USA and Martina Navratilova, originally from Czechoslovakia but later of the USA, who won 36 Grand Slam titles between them (18 each). Whilst Navratilova had the edge on grass, it was Evert who dominated on clay with honors shared on the hard courts, but it was the rivalry between the two that helped to put Ladies tennis into the big time.The eighties also saw the emergence of arguably the greatest ladies player of all time in the form of leggy German, Steffi Graf. She went on to dominate most of the nineties, eclipsing all those who had reigned before her, winning an incredible 22 Grand Slam singles titles, shared almost equally between the four tournaments, which of course are played on four different surfaces. She is the only woman in the ‘open era’ to win all four Grand Slams in the same year, which she achieved in 1988. It was not as if she had no rivalries of her own, because she did. Navratilova was her first in the late eighties and early nineties but then came Monica Seles, herself a winner of 8 ‘Slams’ plus of course the dogged, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, who won four.
It was hard to imagine that the world could produce someone even better than Graf, however, no-one had considered dedicated father, Richard Williams, who had nurtured the talents of two seriously athletic children of his; namely Venus and Serena. Venus the older of the two Williams sisters was first to hit the headlines, winning several tournaments and climbing up the world rankings eventually establishing herself in the top ten. Few realized however at that time that Venus was only the Williams second string as Serena was soon to prove. Serena had made similar progress as her older sister, winning one or two small tournaments but also getting herself into the world’s top ten.It was not long however before Serena made the world sit up and take note by winning the 1999 US Open, defeating the then world number one, Martina Hingis in the final. She had overtaken her sister in the world rankings, whilst at the same time captured the imagination of the tennis world. It was to some great surprise therefore that Serena for several spurious reasons dropped back out of the limelight and failed to win another ‘Slam’ for almost three years. In that time Venus had dominated the game winning back to back Slams at both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2000 and 2001, becoming world number one in the process.
It was probably in the wake of her sister’s success that Serena began her own earnest assault on the ladies tennis world. She began that assault by winning the French Open on her least favorite clay surface in 2002, defeating her sister in the final. She went on that year to win Wimbledon for the first time and take her second US Open. She also won the Australian Open in January 2003, which made her only the fifth woman to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.Since those heady days Serena has gone on to win 13 Grand Slam titles compared to the seven won by Venus.
Although currently injured, she will be the defending champion in 2011 of both the Australian Open and at Wimbledon and will be looking to seal her ambition of becoming the first player since Graf in 1988 to win a calendar year Grand Slam. She begins her quest at the Australian Open, which takes place January 17-30, 2011 in Melbourne and who could argue about her credentials of adding more majors to her roll of honour and at the age of 29 she still has time to confirm her place as the greatest women's player of all time.
Rod Crowley (Contributor) - Bleacher Report
Both were no-shows last week, though, because of injuries. And both will also miss this weekend's Fed Cup final in San Diego between the United States and Italy. Sidelined by two operations on her right foot after getting cut by glass at a restaurant, Serena Williams hasn't played a competitive match since winning Wimbledon on July 3. Hobbled by a bad left knee, Venus Williams has only played in one tournament, the U.S. Open, since losing at the All England Club on June 29.
"The absence of the Williams sisters at any event -- be it a major or non-major -- is significant," said Jason Bernstein, a senior director in ESPN's programming department. "Fans, print and electronic media interest, TV ratings and overall buzz are all reduced." Serena has won 13 Grand Slam singles titles -- the most among active women, by far, and sixth in history -- and Venus has won seven. Despite their lack of playing time in 2010, both finished the WTA season in the top five. No other American woman is in the top 50.
Asked about not having the Williams sisters, Fernandez said: "Of course it's disappointing. The whole team was really looking forward to having both Venus and Serena on the team." The interest generated by the Williams sisters' ascension -- both have been ranked No. 1, including Serena as recently as last month -- is widely credited with the decision to move the U.S. Open women's final to prime time in 2001. Venus beat Serena that year for the championship, and nearly 23 million viewers tuned in to the CBS broadcast, giving the final the largest TV audience of any program that night, including a football game between Notre Dame and Nebraska.
That 2001 U.S. Open final drew a 6.8 rating, and the Williams-Williams rematch the next year earned a 5.2. The only other U.S. Open women's final since 2001 with a rating higher than 2.7 came in 2008 -- the only other time a Williams reached the championship match in New York. Bernstein called the sisters "game-changers for the sport" and "compelling to watch." WTA chief executive Stacey Allaster called the Williamses "two of the most exciting and finest players we have had in our history."
At the WTA Championships last week, the Williams' absence was hard to miss. "I just feel sorry for Williams sisters, that they are not here," said two-time major finalist Elena Dementieva, who announced her own retirement in Doha. "With them, it's really interesting and challenging for the rest of the players."
"The absence of the Williams sisters at any event -- be it a major or non-major -- is significant," said Jason Bernstein, a senior director in ESPN's programming department. "Fans, print and electronic media interest, TV ratings and overall buzz are all reduced." Serena has won 13 Grand Slam singles titles -- the most among active women, by far, and sixth in history -- and Venus has won seven. Despite their lack of playing time in 2010, both finished the WTA season in the top five. No other American woman is in the top 50.
That 2001 U.S. Open final drew a 6.8 rating, and the Williams-Williams rematch the next year earned a 5.2. The only other U.S. Open women's final since 2001 with a rating higher than 2.7 came in 2008 -- the only other time a Williams reached the championship match in New York. Bernstein called the sisters "game-changers for the sport" and "compelling to watch." WTA chief executive Stacey Allaster called the Williamses "two of the most exciting and finest players we have had in our history."
At the WTA Championships last week, the Williams' absence was hard to miss. "I just feel sorry for Williams sisters, that they are not here," said two-time major finalist Elena Dementieva, who announced her own retirement in Doha. "With them, it's really interesting and challenging for the rest of the players."
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