The Williams sisters, is their reign over?
Although the media has never been very supportive of any member of the Williams family, up till this year they have maintained a certain level of respect for the two sisters, who are highly influential in the tennis world.
However, with Serena Williams dropping out of events at every turn and her sister Venus following suit, they seem to have reached an all-time low where media approval and popularity are concerned.
The media has been generally disparaging of Serena and Venus Williams this year, despite the fact that tennis fans have created an outcry at the absence of the former World Number 1 from every tournament after Wimbledon. As opposed to wondering where the
player has gone and when she will return, journalists seem to be hailing her absence as a new dawn in the World of tennis accompanied by a new World Number 1.
The Guardian’s Orville Lloyd Douglas, for example, writes, “In certain circles of the US tennis establishment, [Caroline] Wozniacki’s emergence is seen as a positive development, precisely because it puts Williams in her place”.
A similar opinion is held by tennis correspondent Chris Chase, who has a well-documented past of writing hostile reports on the American player. He recently accused the younger Williams sister of exaggerating her injury, despite authentic medical reports
of a torn tendon. He also added that her fans should learn to simply “deal with it” if Caroline Wozniacki had dethroned the former top player.
Another disparaging writer is ESPN journalist Peter Bodo, who maintains a very anti-Williams position. This year, he passed off the sisters’ patriotism as “false and self-serving”, following their failure to keep up with their commitment to play at the Fed
Cup final on America’s behalf against Italy.
Another bone of contention is the sisters’ refusal to play at the Indian Wells tournament. Venus Williams and her father, Richard Williams, were reportedly booed and racially abused after she dropped out of a match against her sister in 2001 due to injury.
Several tennis analysts, most noticeably Tom Gainey, hold the opinion that the sisters should “get over it and play Indian Wells”.
Obviously, Richard Williams does not win the two sisters any points where popularity is concerned. He recently told the New York Times that he felt that the US Tennis Association, also known as the USTA, still discourages African-American talent at tennis,
which is historically a white-dominated sport.
He backed this claim up by citing Maria Sharapova, saying that the player is the highest-paid female athlete in the World despite winning only three Grand Slams next to Serena’s thirteen. Richard Williams seems to have ignored the fact that Sharapova is
Russian, and hence has no affiliation with the USTA.
In addition to this, the USTA sponsors tennis programs, which specifically cater to black children all over the country. This remark of Richard Williams’s spurred great controversy, with one fan commenting that “the USTA spent more money trying to develop
Donald Young into the next Tiger Woods [of tennis] than they’ve spent on any other player in recent history”.
It is clear that the reign of the Williams may very well be over. Whether it is lack of participation, infamousness in the media or a combination of the two, it seems as if the World of tennis is ready for something new.
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