Women Tennis: Has the sport lost its competitive edge? – Tennis Special
When was the last time one watched a women's singles match that made heads turn left and right, following precisely every movement of the tennis ball? It was September 1984, Vicki Nelson-Dunbar vs. Jean Hepner. The match lasted
six hours 31 minutes with one point in the second-set tiebreaker lasting 29 minutes and 643 shots. Nelson-Dundar prevailed by 6-4, 7-6, 13-11.
Steff Graf vs. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario played a Wimbledon final in 1995 that created over two hours of electrifying tennis. The final set lasted 20 minutes, spanning 32 points and 13 deuces. Graf was ultimately triumphant, 46 61
75, for the sixth of her seven Wimbledon titles.
In 2005 Venus Williams vs.Lindsay Davenport played a Wimbledon final that was one of the longest ladies final ever, it lasted an exhausting two hours and 45 minutes and emphasized the supremacy of power in women's tennis. Venus
lost the first set and was match point down in the second, but she held on to trample over Davenport, 46 76(4) 97.
But all of that was years ago, when there were players such as the above and the Belgian queens, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. Although, the sagacity, power and sportsmanship in men's tennis has increased yearly only a limited
number of contenders in women’s tennis seem to feed on competition the way the former contestants such as Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert famously did. One wonders what happened to the days when watching the women’s singles match gave goose
bumps, when the raw strength, muscle and power made you want to purchase a tennis racquet and jump onto a court, and no one could talk about anything else the next day.
According to the May's Nielsen ratings, the 2011 French Open women's final recorded almost one-third less viewers than the men's final, even though it was the Chinese ace Li Na playing. Even with the biggest population in the world,
the Chinese could not help boost the women’s final viewership. The same holds true for the 2011 Australian Open women's final. With Li Na also in the final the event failed to record a large number of viewers. Wimbledon had its maximum viewership in the early
1980’s and has never reached that summit since. Yes, the Williams sisters played each other in 2009, but since when did a sibling rivalry involve true rivals? It’s almost like a win win situation. Besides that match did not equal up to the epic ones mentioned
here.
A vacancy in the spotlight has been created since Justine’s retirement and with Venus and Serena nursing injuries. Sadly, no female player has successfully occupied that space. Maria Sharapova has dropped in ranking as well as
her game in the last two years. Caroline Wozniacki has a No.1 ranking without winning a Grand Slam. No wonder no one wants to watch women’s tennis anymore.
Not so long ago the women's game was a preferable choice than the men’s, particularly on grass as there were more rallies and the serve wasn't completely dominant. It was interesting and there was flair to it. Every match is a
test of one’s mettle and every player should be put to an acid test. This is what defines a true champion and is exactly what seems to be lacking in the women's game. When the pressure is at its greatest a number of top ranked players have failed to either
defend their rank or win the title. Chris Evert retired in 1989 with a career record of 1309-146 and 157 career titles; Steffi Graff holds 22 major singles titles amongst men and women won in 18 years as a professional player. Not to mention Martina Navratilova
has an amazing 167 career titles, which is an all time record in men and women. That’s what you call displaying a strong desire to be successful.
Men are enjoying a succession at the top of their game. Women on the other hand, are in a state of “topsy turviness”, as they move to the hard courts in August for the US Open. Presently the world anticipates the rising of the
next woman multi-champion. This era represents one of the darkest periods of women’s tennis in history.
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in the article are the writer’s own personal views and have nothing to do with bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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