Wimbledon - Reed: Women's tennis in doldrums

Eurosport - Fri, 03 Jul 12:55:00 2009

Eurosport-Yahoo! blogger Simon Reed believes women's tennis is at a low point thanks to the Williams sisters.

Williams sisters Venus Serena - 0

Women's tennis has been in the doldrums recently, with the presence of the Williams sisters required to give tournaments any prestige.

I am optimistic that at the end of the year things could improve and return to a competitive environment, but at the moment the American duo are dominant.

Women's tennis is riding a bad wave at the moment. By next year, however, that wave will be on the rise again: it tends to be a cyclical process.

What has happened to the women's game since Justine Henin retired is the Williams sisters have been left to control proceedings.

Maria Sharapova will be a threat when she recovers fully from injury and Kim Clijsters will return to provide a test, but I am not sure about Jelena Jankovic or Ana Ivanovic.

There is still no doubt in my mind that Serena Williams is the number one player in the world, except possibly on grass where her sister Venus is slightly better.

The rest of the women are, I am afraid, quite a long way behind the pair.

I have always thought that when the Williams sisters are fit, they are easily the best players in the women's game, and today proved that.

The two semi-finals were not a surprise at all, with only the superb performance of Elena Dementieva giving us an exciting match.

I expected the Russian to succumb to nerves once more, but to her credit she did not - and it was a fantastic encounter.

Dinara Safina's world number one ranking is a bit deceptive, given that she has never won a Grand Slam, but it is certainly not her fault that the system is like that.

Some people are criticising her for the fact that she should not be there, but she is consistent on the Tour; to blame her is ridiculous.

Safina has clearly had better results than everyone else this year to achieve that ranking, but I think the system should be changed to reward Grand Slams more.

The weighting of the points system must be more heavily in favour of those players, like the Williams sisters, who perform on the biggest stage.

It is weird that Serena could potentially win the Australian Open and Wimbledon, yet still remain in second spot: that cannot be right.

Safina has never been any good when playing on grass courts, and it was frankly surprising that she even made it this far in the tournament.

I could see her drubbing today coming from a mile off, and it would have been the same if she had been playing Serena instead of Venus.

Safina is simply not a good mover on grass courts, but I would not be surprised if she came back at the US Open and proved a major threat.

---

Looking ahead to the women's final on Saturday, I may have to switch horses.

I am not one to change my mind very often, but I am moving towards Venus Williams for the title instead of Serena.

I have backed Serena to win the tournament all the way through in an all-Williams final, but the way Venus played today, you would be a brave man not to back her.

It is impossibly difficult to call with the way they are both striking the ball.

I think people are wrong to suggest that it may be a boring final, because I actually believe that it could be very exciting indeed.

Because the Williams sisters have been around for so long, people are now able to associate with one more than the other, and they have very distinct supporters on either side.

Any alternative to this final could well have been a disaster, with either Safina or Dementieva freezing on the big stage, and that would have been a complete nightmare.

An all-Williams final is probably the best draw possible, and let us hope that it is as exciting as the first semi-final was today.

Simon Reed / Eurosport

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  1. KULA BEER to GET AN IDEA. Everyone needs to chill and­ have a cold one for both sisters and let them enjoy­ their fame and fortune, but admittedly the other­ players are just passengers picking up their pay­ cheques as they know they'll get a decent amount­ regardless of not actually winning anything. I think­ they should make grand slams winner takes all, that­ means that the other players would have to step up­ their game and not just show up for a handsome pay­ cheque as a majority of the English players do being­ awarded wild cards etc. I do think that they should try­ and get more ethnic minorities to play the game as­ well. I don't think the infra structure is in place­ as of yet. Anyway have a nice cold beer and Enjoy the­ TEnnis. KULA BEER!!!!!

    From ontopbig, on Fri 3 Jul 2:57PM

  2. who is Reed? did he achieve anything in life other than­ whining when his prediction falters? pathetic­ article!!!

    From Ahabs_god, on Fri 3 Jul 2:56PM

  3. Oh, And don't forget they are in the Doubles too.­ And they are kicking butt, as usual.

    From frith, on Fri 3 Jul 2:55PM

  4. Funny, I watch womens tennis purely to see how badly­ Venus and Serena beat the competition.

    And this year­ they did not dissappoint.

    From frith, on Fri 3 Jul 2:53PM

  5. Andrew G,(181), isn't it the same in the men's­ tour where only two players (Nadal and Federer) win­ everything? Or you just posted your comment for the­ sake of it?

    From Misi, on Fri 3 Jul 2:45PM

  6. I am black and don't see any racist comments from­ Reed here. I have to agree this time with him although­ I rarely do.
    I perfectly agree with Reed that the­ problem in women tennis right now is not the Williams­ sisters but the other players. I can understand some­ finding tennis boring because one can see the sisters­ as one entity hence seeing their dominance as a one­ player dominance. Other, me included, would like the­ sisters to have tougher opponents as they had in the­ past. A part from that, there has always been in tennis­ and other sports a couple of dominant players with the­ rest of the field closing. Except F1 which managed with­ crazy rules to revert the entire order of­ dominance!

    Unfortunately we are in an era in which­ women tennis has currently very few top level players.­ The women ranking is so fluctuating that I don't­ even bother following it anymore. No need to mention­ the number one position itself.
    With Henin and­ Clijsters gone, and Mauresmo to retire soon; that­ leaves us with the Sisters and Sharapova as true­ talents to lead the field. Hopefully young players will­ change this trend.

    From Ananda, on Fri 3 Jul 2:44PM

  7. So power is all the Williams sisters have to­ offer?

    That is so not true. The sisters technique­ comes into play all the time. It's the power that­ makes them better than ther rest.

    And again how can­ the two best players of Womens Tennis playing eachother­ be boring. It's more exciting thany any mens game.

    From frith, on Fri 3 Jul 2:44PM

  8. 183, give it a rest with the racism please, cameron­ didnt say anything about skin colour, just the type of­ tennis that the sisters played, and i agree with­ him/her.

    From ajpbolton, on Fri 3 Jul 2:43PM

  9. Sisters Williams Are True too the Ladies Doubles final­ at the All England Club 2009 for the Championship,...!!

    From Mootje M, on Fri 3 Jul 2:33PM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I totally agree that woman's tennis is poor at the­ moment. It is a big turn off when the grunting and­ screaming is more important than the quality of tennis­ and how can the women's game justify the prize­ money they receive? perhaps they could spend some of­ the prize money in having there vocal chords medically­ seen to.

    From mbolderstone, on Fri 3 Jul 2:28PM

  11. Cameron, you said you prefer finesse, guile and touch­ rather than brute­ force because brute force is coming­ from two great black players and winners FULL STOP.­ Don't think that we need to be prophets to see that­ seed of racism planted in your heart and expressed­ through your comments.You need a special mirror so that­ you can see "YOUR SELF" properly.

    From Brice, on Fri 3 Jul 2:23PM

  12. More like Men's tennis in the doldrums. You've­ had Nadal and Federer dominating for six years now with­ nobody there to challenge them. We've had the­ occassional flashes and one hit wonders like Djokovic,­ Davydenko, Tsonga, Nalbandian and now Murray. But none­ has been able to mount a sustained challenge. The women­ are however more competitive as no one has been able to­ hold on to a particular ranking for long. Very ill­ informed article to say the least.

    From Misi, on Fri 3 Jul 2:20PM

  13. But how boring to see the same two winning­ everything!,Sport thrives on compition
    not the same­ players.quikest way to drive away the fans

    From ANDREW G, on Fri 3 Jul 2:16PM

  14. How can a Williams final be boring!?!

    The 2 BEST OF­ THE BEST players are playing eachother.

    You'd­ rather have 2 average palyers play each other?

    Do you­ honestly think a Safina and Dementieva final would be­ worth watching? Especially because Safina has no­ skills.

    I hope, NO! I know Venus and Serena will do­ this again next year. They will break records and it­ will take years for there records to get broken.

    From frith, on Fri 3 Jul 2:12PM

  15. Mr. Reed,

    You have not presented any reasonable­ arguments as to why you're proffering the notion­ that women's tennis is in the doldrums because of­ the Williams sisters. I suspect that if they were white­ you would be celebrating them for their tremendous­ contribution to tennis, their longevity, and, I dare­ say, saving women's tennis. Perhaps you should try­ a little harder to disguise your prejudice.

    From Football Prophet, on Fri 3 Jul 2:06PM

  16. They should change the ranking system so that you (a)­ get more points for competing in a major and (b) get­ more points for defeating an opponent higher up the­ rankings. Winning a minor tournament where you only­ have to beat players that are ranked way below proves­ nothing. If you beat someone higher up then you should­ be rewarded.

    From Andrew, on Fri 3 Jul 2:05PM

  17. sanchez.santos - 151
    Be fair now, there is no need for­ that!
    All i said was that i wouldn't be watching!
    I­ prefer finesse, guile and touch rather than brute­ force; i did not criticise, or cast any aspersions!
    If­ you have noticed recently, i have really tried hard­ here with my objectivity (it's still not great, but­ it's improving!!!!).
    I applaud both girls for their­ exploits; a tremendous achievement, but their brand of­ tennis is just not for me!
    No point in gathering data­ from the BBC either, as the argument is hypothetical­ anyway!
    Personally, i hope Venus wins - do i have to­ give a reason why?

    From cameron w, on Fri 3 Jul 1:13PM

  18. sam grow up, while i dont like the sister or their­ style of play, i cant ignore what they have achieved­ and admire the fact that only one player(henin) in the­ last 6years has been able to deal with how they play.

    From ajpbolton, on Fri 3 Jul 1:10PM

  19. I don't agree at all. While The Williams sisters­ prove over and over again how good they are, especially­ in the majors (and the other players prove how they­ cave to their pressure), I am a strong believer in­ rewarding the real hard work that a lot of the ladies­ put in during the year - they are the ones that hold­ the tour together and give it that special extra bit of­ character that I enjoy watching so much on Eurosport.­ The men might have the upper hand in the majors, but­ during the year the WTA tour is far more interesting­ and enjoyable to follow.

    From bopolitica, on Fri 3 Jul 1:08PM

  20. Venus and Serena were is different draws and player­ their opponents just ebcuase they are sisters­ doens't mean people should box them as one because­ they are not 1 is older and they play differently and­ deal with thing in the own separate ways. Safina had­ no fight Demi did the best she could do in fact she­ can't go a level beyond what she gave, while Serena­ has the extra fighting spiriting and determination to­ pull her thourgh when she wants some so badily and­ fights for it. Calling them names is just too low­ because all this up and coming layer took their power­ play to come to the game with just that, that however­ is not going to win you very much because Tennis is by­ far a thinking game its more like chase if you move­ fast you lose, you have to take the time to think it­ out, and play to your strength and you opponents­ weakness. Tennis for me is to player better than your­ opponent or make them play worse than you. Serena and­ V are good at doing both that however does not mean­ they don't lose they do. Azarenka, Safina, Liski­ show that they ahve power but not much else. It showed­ so much that Safina didn't know what else to do­ once hitting the ball hard din't work and Azaenka­ though a great talent need veriation i find it hard­ because she ahs won 2 mixed double slams its to her­ advantage. Radwanska is talneted and yet she suffers­ from what Safina has in spades power and Safina needs­ some on the thinking ability of Radwanska and softness.­ Wozniaki is another that has promise her lack of­ movement will come with time but she out of them all­ has it for because she has the mix of power and brains,­ soft hands. Some i so much like in Hantucova would use­ believing in herself and trusting in her ability. The­ williams, Justine, Kim, Capritait, Hingis, and­ Davenport who had it all, the power, the placement,­ ability to think, softeness, drive and fight to win­ easily and fight when things didn't look so great. ­ Match points down set down adn th

    From janice m, on Fri 3 Jul 1:07PM
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