tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40168270710905469632024-03-13T05:17:15.691-07:00The Tennis Prof ChroniclesMy name is Nancy Spencer and I am an Associate Professor in Sport Management at Bowling Green State University (in Ohio). Tennis has been a central focus of my life-as a player, teaching pro, and coach. Now, as a Sport Sociologist, I look at tennis through the critical lens of Sport Sociology.The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-18824176032558574962014-07-02T21:34:00.000-07:002014-07-02T21:34:24.216-07:00What happened to Serena during Wimbledon Doubles?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: start;">On ESPNW, </span><a href="http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/11168116/espnw-martina-navratilova-critical-serena-williams-wimbledon-exit" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Martina Navratilova had an interesting take</a><span style="text-align: start;"> on what happened during Serena and Venus Williams' doubles match yesterday. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VlZV7j5S8y0/U7TXpdFZfcI/AAAAAAAAAc8/uEx2Du5qXco/s1600/espnw_g_serena_d1_300x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VlZV7j5S8y0/U7TXpdFZfcI/AAAAAAAAAc8/uEx2Du5qXco/s1600/espnw_g_serena_d1_300x200.jpg" /></a></div>
I now wonder if Serena is suffering burn-out. I don't know about all the physiological signs she was exhibiting in her doubles match (see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HPC0o3lC_Y" target="_blank">video</a>), but her singles loss against Cornet was clearly not Serena at her best - which is not to take anything away from Cornet or anyone else who has beaten Serena this year.<br />
<br />
Think about what Serena accomplished last year... It was arguably the greatest year in her career. <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2013/10/27/serena-williams-finishes-historic-12-4-million-tennis-season-with-another-title/" target="_blank">She won over $12 million in prize earnings</a> - not even counting endorsements (which are still less than Sharapova, but that's another story). Given what a great year Serena had last year, maybe she just needed a break. She is 32 years old after all (I never thought I would think of that as young!:-) During much of her early career, Serena did not play as intensely as she did over the past 2 years. <a href="http://espn.go.com/tennis/french14/story/_/id/10999827/2014-french-open-serena-williams-going-work-hard-make-sure-never-lose-again" target="_blank">After she lost to Garbine Muguruza at the French, she said she would go out and work 5 times as hard so she would never lose again</a>. Maybe she needs a break. Maybe that is what her body is telling her now.<br />
<br />
And then there is the issue of why she even went out onto the court if she was in such a state of disorientation! I can think of a good reason for that - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcUcTMdn4dE" target="_blank">remember Indian Wells in 2001</a>? When Venus withdrew from the tournament, Serena heard the vitriolic booing of fans who thought her win by default over Venus was "fixed" by her father. The suggestion that she just could have defaulted fails to take into account what has happened in the past when either she or Venus defaulted. That's why I think Venus was proud of Serena for at least trying to play!<br />
<br />
What do you think?The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-2735648175937876462014-04-28T21:08:00.003-07:002014-04-28T21:08:27.331-07:00Donald Sterling's Offensive Remarks Reveal Deeper Issues in Sport<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FWSZTFvaVsg/U17UeYZ1LQI/AAAAAAAAABw/OXY5wsEbq-g/s1600/donald-sterling-los-angeles-clippers-owner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FWSZTFvaVsg/U17UeYZ1LQI/AAAAAAAAABw/OXY5wsEbq-g/s1600/donald-sterling-los-angeles-clippers-owner.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
The recent "alleged" comments made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling
(above) have quickly circulated throughout the NBA and amongst
basketball fans. By now you have no doubt at least heard of the <a href="http://deadspin.com/exclusive-the-extended-donald-sterling-tape-1568291249" target="_blank">tape of Sterling that was released by TMZ</a>,
alleging that in conversations with his girlfriend (V. Stiviano, on
Sterling's left), Sterling asked that she not bring African Americans to
Clippers' games. He even asked that she not bring Magic Johnson to
their games. In response to the polarizing comments, many NBA owners,
former and current players, and even President Obama have spoken out in
protest. Current Clipper team members had a silent protest by turning
their jerseys inside out (so that the name of the Clippers would not be
seen) and they wore black socks when they played.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gA0pd5LPUQ8/U17VAXIldKI/AAAAAAAAAB4/-HNtPGyx69w/s1600/Clippers-protest-chris-paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gA0pd5LPUQ8/U17VAXIldKI/AAAAAAAAAB4/-HNtPGyx69w/s1600/Clippers-protest-chris-paul.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
The alleged comments by Donald Sterling reveal what ESPN's <a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10845649/jackson-sterling-remarks-illustrate-race-relations-need-work" target="_blank">Scoop Jackson (2014)</a>
believes to be deeper issues, not just in the NBA but in all of sport.
We have talked about some of these issues in previous Sport and Gender
classes. And we have also discussed whether professional athletes should
take a stand on political issues. In this case, we can see that many
already have. Even the usually reluctant Michael Jordan expressed his
views as an owner and former player, saying that as an owner, he was
"completely disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such
sickening and offensive views" (Terrill, 2014, para. 18). As a former
player, Jordan said that he was "completely outraged" (Terrill, 2014,
para. 19). Magic Johnson spoke out to say that Sterling should not be
allowed to own a team if the comments can truly be attributed to him. <br />
<br />
The
deeper issues outlined by Jackson (2014) provide even more compelling
evidence that racism is alive and well in sport. We would like to
believe that in 2014 we have come much further than this - and yet,
there is evidence in every major professional sports' league that racism
persists. Among the evidence that Jackson points out: (1) He asks how
is it that in a league that is 80% black, "there is only one majority
black owner of an NBA franchise" (para. 6); (2) In MLB, where Jackie
Robinson crossed the color barrier to open doors to African Americans,
only about 10% of the players today are African American; (3) In the
NFL, it takes the Rooney Rule for owners to be encouraged (by threat of
punishment) to even interview a minority candidate as a coach; and (4)
in 2011, in the NHL Wayne Simmonds (below) was rattled by someone throwing a
banana on the ice in front of him.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GR9WzzQ_SMg/U17XBB6SBjI/AAAAAAAAACE/TSaNiqCgXJ4/s1600/nhl_g_simmonds01jr_300x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GR9WzzQ_SMg/U17XBB6SBjI/AAAAAAAAACE/TSaNiqCgXJ4/s1600/nhl_g_simmonds01jr_300x300.jpg" /></a></div>
This
is 2014! Racism is supposed to be over. Yet, all of this evidence
indicates that it is not. What will it take? And what should these NBA
players (on the Clippers, in the League, and the other owners) do to
combat the hateful words spun by Sterling? What should the new
Commissioner Adam Silver do? Better yet, why hasn't he said something
already? How long does it take to confirm that the tape reveals Donald
Sterling?<br />
<br />
Earlier today, Dan Patrick asked Bomani Jones
to finish this sentence: "In a year from now, if Donald Sterling is
still the owner of the L.A. Clippers, it will be__________________."
Bomani completed the sentence by saying... "business as usual." Let us
hope that is not the fate of the NBA, or of our society. Let us hope
that enough people express outrage so that something changes
dramatically.The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-8927691468016794552013-09-23T20:10:00.002-07:002014-05-20T09:12:56.910-07:00The "Real Hoax" Behind the "Battle of the Sexes"<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Friday,
September 20 was the 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the Battle of the Sexes,
which prompted ESPN to promote a story that seems to undermine the validity of
what occurred in 1973 at the Houston Astrodome. In effect, ESPN wants us to
believe that a hoax occurred in which Bobby Riggs “fixed” the match against
Billie Jean King so he could settle his gambling debts with the mob. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Could
it have happened? <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Given Bobby’s
proclivity for gambling and hanging out with mob-types, perhaps it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could</i> have happened as then 79-year old
former golf pro Hal Shaw described it to ESPN writer Don Van Natta. Bobby’s son
(Larry) admitted as much. In fact, after observing how little his father had
prepared for the match against King, Larry decided to not even attend the match in Houston.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But what if
the so-called hoax was really part of a larger plan in which Billie Jean King
and Margaret Court colluded to set up Riggs so that he would pitch the idea to
the mob – believing, of course, that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i>
was the mastermind? And all this time, no one knew that the two women were
really the ones who orchestrated the ‘fix of the fix’ so that women’s tennis
would become the most lucrative sport for women? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Now that Hal
Shaw has told his story about overhearing mobsters, there’s another story that
needs to be told.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This until-now
untold story involved a woman named Sally Haw, who was an Assistant Tennis
Pro at the St. Charles Tennis Club in Detroit, where she didn’t actually get
paid because let’s face it, women didn’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i>
sports in those days. In fact, they didn’t even call her an Assistant Tennis Pro,
even though she strung rackets, gave tennis lessons, organized leagues and
basically ran the Pro Shop. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Anyway, while
attending a tournament in Detroit, Sally happened onto an elevator where the
famous tennis players, Margaret Court and Billie Jean King, were deep in
conversation. Star struck to be on the same elevator with two of the most
famous women tennis players in the world, Haw kept very quiet, not saying a word.
[Fortunately for her, she was used to being invisible to people who were famous].
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As it turned
out, the women tennis players were embroiled in their own conversation and didn’t
even notice the diminutive Haw. Thanks to Haw’s propensity for remembering
details she was able to re-construct the conversation perfectly – even though it
was 40 years ago. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Much to Haw's surprise, Margaret was the more vocal of the two in this conversation.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Billie,
you’ve <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">got</i> to let me play him first.
He’ll <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">never</i> suspect that we are
setting him up. Look, everyone knows he’s a gambler and he owes a boatload of
money to the mob…”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“That’s not
the Bobby I know,” Billie Jean responded. “He would <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">never</i> hang out with mob guys. How do you know he would fall for
this?”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Look at the
guys he plays golf with,” Margaret continued. “Do you think he hangs with those
guys for their pasta? No way… It’s <em>obvious</em> he’s a mob
puppet.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“It’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> so obvious to me,” Billie Jean
continued. “Besides, that’s golf. What makes you think he’d agree to fix a tennis
match? He has too much integrity for that!”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Integrity?
Bobby? You cannot be serious!!” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Margaret, how
can you say that?”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Well, Billie,
think about it… C’mon! Bobby has been bugging both of
us for months now. He wants to play one of us so he can hype it up and make all
this money. Aren’t you getting a little sick of his rhetoric? <em>‘Even a tired-old
man of 55 can beat the No. 1 woman in the world…?’</em>”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Yes, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> don’t have time for that… <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we</i> don’t have time for it. We’ve got a
pro tennis tour to promote. And what will people say <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if</i> we lose…”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if</i> you or I lose – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">when</i> one of us loses… we’ve got to lose the first match so he
thinks he can con another one of us into playing a second match. That’s how he
sells it to the mob… there has to be a bigger pay day to follow. If he thinks
he’s in control, then he believes he can sell it to the mob…”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“How do you
know he’ll buy it, Margaret? Heck, how do you know the mob will buy it?” Billie
Jean asked. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Please,
Billie. You don’t think I’ve been cultivating this ‘nicest-mother-on-the-tour-image’
for nothing! What do you think Barry does? He’s not content as a stay-at-home dad.
He’s been on the take for years. Why do you think he wanted to marry me? He
knew he could make millions off my career. I just had to agree not to spout any
of that feminist rhetoric. It makes me more believable when the fix goes down.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Wow,
Margaret, you are blowing my mind!”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“It’s about
time!... so what do you think?” Margaret asked as the elevator stopped and the
women exited.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sally leaned
forward to hear what King would say, but she knew she dared not follow them. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What if they saw her</i>? She knew that
either one of them could easily finish her off with a deadly overhead. She <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">had</i> to keep silent. After all, there’s nothing
worse than betraying a (woman) tennis player who’s a
shill for the mob!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why now</i>? Why is Sally coming forward
with her story on this, the 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the most famous
tennis match ever?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“I finally got
fed up hearing stories about what Hal Shaw was saying,” Sally said. “Yes, he overheard the
mobsters talking, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i> really
thought they were in control of the narrative. Of course, they bought into the
idea that a woman couldn’t beat a man – that was patriarchy at work! And, of
course, ESPN was pumped about sharing that story. They’re all about men’s
sports. How could they ever think that women’s advances were legitimate? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They</i> had to get the last laugh!... <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“But I
couldn’t let that happen. That’s why I had to come forward now!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-34922045444896071272013-03-17T12:24:00.002-07:002013-03-17T12:42:52.138-07:00"Are you watching Indian Wells?"This is the time of year when tennis is heating up! As a former player, coach/teaching pro, and fan of the game, this is a time when I would <em>normally</em> be watching what is considered by some to be the "fifth Grand Slam" - i.e., the BNP Paribas Tournament at Indian Wells. But to be honest, I have had difficulty watching that tournament ever since March 17, 2001, when the Williams family faced "one of the ugliest scenes in the sport's history" (Jenkins, 2013, para. 3). From my perspective, I cannot think of an uglier moment! <br />
<br />
Now I am an Associate Professor in Sport Management at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), where I teach an undergraduate class about "Sport and Gender" and a graduate course on "Sport and Society." Since the BNP Paribas Tournament occurs midway through the semester, I typically assign articles related to the racialized incident that occurred in 2001. In class, we discuss if and/or how racism operated in that situation, and how students as future sport managers could address racism in sport. For those who are not familiar with what happened at Indian Wells, the incident is documented by <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/columns/story?columnist=drucker_joel&id=3952939" target="_blank">Joel Drucker</a> (2009) in this summary.<br />
<br />
In 2001, I was among those eagerly awaiting the live televised match that would feature the Williams sisters playing one another professionally for only the sixth time. I remember seeing them play in their first match at the Ericsson (in 1999) when Venus won in three sets. I also watched as Venus defeated Serena in their 2000 semifinal match at Wimbledon. I could not have been more excited to see their sixth match-up, especially since it was scheduled to be shown <em>live</em> on ESPN. Naturally, I was disappointed to learn that Venus had defaulted - supposedly just moments before the match was scheduled to begin. I don't remember if they showed another match to fill in the time slot. But I <em>do</em> remember seeing the finals between Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters when it was played two days later.<br />
<br />
Watching that final match left an indelible mark on me, so I can begin to understand how it must have felt for the Williams sisters. Pam Shriver and Mary Joe Fernandez were commentators for the final match. I remember Mary Joe saying that tournament officials <em>knew</em> "something might happen," and they had warned ushers to be prepared. In light of their forewarning, I could not understand why no one intervened when the ugliness began. The vitriolic booing by fans started as soon as Serena was introduced; it escalated when Venus and Richard Williams entered the Stadium to take their seats for the final. As the match got underway, fans did the unthinkable - for a tennis crowd - they booed loudly each time Serena made an error or lost a point. The clip below shows what happened:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/TcUcTMdn4dE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<br />
After showing this clip in class, we usually discuss whether the Williams sisters should return to Indian Wells. Based upon my observations over the years, I have witnessed a growing consensus among students that Venus and Serena are justified in not returning to Indian Wells. When asked why they believe that, students say that the original incident was never really addressed (i.e., nothing was done at the time) and there is no guarantee that things would be different if they returned to Indian Wells. One student noted that if fans were upset 12 years ago, how do we know that they would not harbor ill will and demonstrate their displeasure even moreso now.<br />
<br />
In a powerful article on <em>SI.com</em>, Elizabeth Newman (2013) argues that "<a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/20130315/williams-sisters-indian-wells-serena-venus/" target="_blank">Calls for Williams sisters to return to Indian Wells are wrong</a>." Newman explains how unusual it is to display such behavior in tennis, writing, "we're talking about tennis, a sport steeped in etiquette, decorum and protocol; a sport where errant catcalls and whistling are considered low brow" (para. 10). When we discuss the incident in my classes, students often wonder if such behavior ever happens in other tennis matches. I tell them it might happen during hotly-contested Davis Cup matches, although it rarely occurs when a player competes in her own country. I recall seeing fans display their displeasure toward Martina Hingis (after <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1142839/index.htm" target="_blank">she made comments about Amelie Mauresmo</a> being "half a man"), and toward Serena at the French Open (in a controversial <a href="http://gregcouch.com/2011/02/25/serena-henin-still-searching-for-closure-on-hand-incident/" target="_blank">match against Justine Henin</a> in 2003). Most recently, <a href="http://espn.go.com/espnw/8875845/australian-open-victoria-azarenka-win-comes-controversy" target="_blank">fans expressed their displeasure toward Victoria Azarenka</a> after she took a longer than usual bathroom break at an inopportune moment during her U.S. Open match against Sloane Stephens.<br />
<br />
In 2001, several things struck me as I watched the Women's Singles Final at Indian Wells. One was that "no one did anything." When Serena's autobiography, <em>On the line</em> (Williams & Paisner, 2009), came out, I was particularly moved by her chapter on "The fiery darts of Indian Wells." In it Serena wrote that, "Some tournament official could have gotten on the loudspeaker and explained to the fans that Venus had been legitimately hurt, that I had nothing to do with her withdrawal, that every effort had been made to cancel that semifinal match in a more timely manner. Some effort could have been made to quiet the crowd. But no one did anything" (Williams & Paisner, 2009, p. 81). Like Serena, I too was astonished to watch the match and observe that <em>no one did anything</em>!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y04faQSi2y4/UUXraRm5jPI/AAAAAAAAATI/kLIeWfK1Xkw/s1600/imagesCA9GGKV4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" psa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y04faQSi2y4/UUXraRm5jPI/AAAAAAAAATI/kLIeWfK1Xkw/s1600/imagesCA9GGKV4.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Another thing that I learned as I read the chapter was that Venus had told the trainer earlier in the day that she was injured and would not be able to play. So why was an announcement <em>not</em> made until four minutes before the match was to begin? At the time, it <em>appeared</em> that Venus was solely responsible for the late withdrawal. To this day, I wonder why the tournament director and/or trainer never acknowledged their complicity in what happened.<br />
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In the aftermath of the 2001 Indian Wells final, Richard Williams reported that he heard "racial epithets" and that someone even yelled that he was lucky it was not 1975 or "he would skin him alive" (Smith, 2001, para. 29). Venus heard it. Other fans reported hearing the boos and racist epithets. And yet, Tournament Director Charlie Pasarell's response was simply to say, "If Richard says he heard racist epithets, maybe he did... but I know that's not Indian Wells people." Really? What does that mean? Why was it so important to establish that <em>if</em> there was a racist response from the crowd, it wasn't "Indian Wells' people." It was still racism! Was Pasarell only responsible if Indian Wells' people were yelling epithets? <br />
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Since 2001, the Williams sisters have (understandably) not returned to Indian Wells, a decision that I fully support. <em>Yahoo! Sports'</em> Merlisa Lawrence Corbett (2013) writes that the 12-year boycott <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/williams-sisters-boycott-taints-indian-wells-tennis-tournament-175500266--ten.html" target="_blank">taints Indian Wells</a> tournament - which is not to suggest that the Williams sisters are to blame, but that Charlie Pasarell never stood against "overt racism." Of the three most recent articles I have mentioned in this entry, Corbett and Newman believe they should continue their boycott, while Jenkins believes that it is time for the Williams sisters to return to Indian Wells. I strongly agree with Corbett and Newman. <em>What do you think?</em>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-68120529804260824942012-08-10T14:25:00.000-07:002012-08-10T14:25:02.413-07:00Super “Golden” Saturday for 30-somethings<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BuJ_MTpuZM8/UCVTCdv2bQI/AAAAAAAAAPY/uC51DoIJi6w/s1600/Serena+Gold+Medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BuJ_MTpuZM8/UCVTCdv2bQI/AAAAAAAAAPY/uC51DoIJi6w/s320/Serena+Gold+Medal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Women's Singles Medalists (L-R): Victoria Azarenka (Bronze), Serena Williams (Gold), and Maria Sharapova (Silver)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_D4nINMP5s/UCVUcT6L_PI/AAAAAAAAAPg/xzxx79vhYP8/s1600/Bryan+brothers+Gold+Medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_D4nINMP5s/UCVUcT6L_PI/AAAAAAAAAPg/xzxx79vhYP8/s320/Bryan+brothers+Gold+Medal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Men's Doubles Medalists (L-R): Benneteau/Gasquet (Bronze), Bryan Brothers (Gold), Llodra/Tsonga (Silver</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">On Saturday,
August 4, 30-year-old Serena Williams captured the gold medal in Women’s
Singles with a dominating win over Maria Sharapova, 6-0, 6-1. Later, the
34-year-old Bryan brothers prevailed in a closely contested match (7-5, 6-4) to
win gold in Men’s Doubles over the French team of Michael Llodra and
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. On Sunday, August 5, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/05/serena-venus-williams-olympics-tennis-doubles_n_1743600.html" target="_blank">Venus and Serena Williams added another gold medal</a> in Women’s doubles by defeating the Czech Republic team of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">According to <a href="http://blogs.tennis.com/thewrap/2012/08/old-glory.html" target="_blank">Steven Tignor</a>, the Williams
sisters and Bryan brothers have kept American tennis relevant. In the past few
years, U.S. sportswriters have registered concerns about who would be the
‘next’ great American tennis stars. At the 2009 U.S. Open, 17-year old Melanie
Oudin raised hopes by advancing to the quarterfinals. While some thought she
could become the next “American sweetheart,” her results and <a href="http://www.wtatennis.com/page/RankingsSingles/0,,12781%7E0%7E101%7E200,00.html" target="_blank">ranking</a> have
dropped considerably (she was #109 on the WTA Tour as of August 10, 2012). In the men’s game, several promising players
(including Mardy Fish and John Isner) have risen to top 10 rankings, but neither
has broken through to capture a Grand Slam. Thus, it was left to the
30-somethings to anchor the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">With
Olympic tennis scheduled to play at Wimbledon in 2012, tickets to tennis were a
hot item. Although the Olympics were last held in London in 1948, those were
the ‘austerity’ games and did not feature tennis. Not since 1908 was Olympic
tennis played at the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon. Recognizing that this would
be an auspicious event, the world’s best players planned their schedules accordingly
so they could be there. <i><b>So did I! </b></i>Although I was unable to obtain them
through normal channels, I was able to land tickets through ebay for three days: Monday,
July 30 & Tuesday, 31 (2<sup>nd</sup> round matches) as well as Saturday, August
4 (gold medal finals in Women’s Singles and Men’s Doubles). Below, I provide highlights and a few pictures
from some of the matches I got to see.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gh_zCoSqKgc/UCVf5lf3zsI/AAAAAAAAAP8/UCmrqMVMedU/s1600/Cropped+pic+of+Venus+vs+Errani+073012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gh_zCoSqKgc/UCVf5lf3zsI/AAAAAAAAAP8/UCmrqMVMedU/s320/Cropped+pic+of+Venus+vs+Errani+073012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">On
Monday, July 30, I saw Venus Williams’ first round singles
against Italy’s Sara Errani (above). The match was played on Court 2,
which has been referred to as the ‘graveyard court’ because of many upsets that
occurred on it. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Unlike Centre Court and Court 1, </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Court 2 did not have assigned seats, so fans were able to move closer to the action. Conditions
could not have been better for tennis (playing or viewing) with temperatures in
the low 70s, blue skies and a light breeze. <i>Could this be the same Wimbledon
that so frequently featured rain delays?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Fans
greeted Venus warmly when she entered the court, no doubt a tribute to her
being the holder of five Wimbledon titles, but perhaps also in recognition that
this could be her last appearance as an Olympian (<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18907509" target="_blank">since then, Venus has said she believes she and Serena could win a fourth Olympic Doubles gold at Rio in 2016</a>). In the past year,
Venus announced that she had been diagnosed with Sjogren’s, an autoimmune
disease that leaves those who have it feeling tired and drained. Venus had
battled through the disease but her results had been inconsistent. So it was
difficult to know what to expect from her play. Nonetheless, it was clear from the beginning that the elder Williams was in top form. In the first game, she hit three
aces and a service winner to take a 1-0 lead. Behind a strong serve, Venus also hit
multiple baseline shots for winners. Overall, rallies did not last long enough
for Errani to gain a foothold in the match and Venus prevailed 6-3, 6-2 to move on to the next round. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tKSjfKhW7Sk/UCVkUMyq8VI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/drutUu7QFvs/s1600/Cropped+Venus+serving+vs.+Wozniak+073112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tKSjfKhW7Sk/UCVkUMyq8VI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/drutUu7QFvs/s1600/Cropped+Venus+serving+vs.+Wozniak+073112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tKSjfKhW7Sk/UCVkUMyq8VI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/drutUu7QFvs/s200/Cropped+Venus+serving+vs.+Wozniak+073112.jpg" width="138" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SFjZ4xPZrdA/UCVkYHIFffI/AAAAAAAAAQY/IF6Ez9JmjwU/s1600/Cropped+Wozniak+serving+2012-07-31.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SFjZ4xPZrdA/UCVkYHIFffI/AAAAAAAAAQY/IF6Ez9JmjwU/s200/Cropped+Wozniak+serving+2012-07-31.jpg" width="147" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">On <b>Tuesday</b>, <b>July 31</b>, Venus (above left) played her second round singles on Centre court, where she faced the Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak (above right). Williams picked up where she left off against Errani, taking the first set 6-1. I had not seen Venus play like this in a long time. Admittedly Wozniak was more erratic than Errani, but Venus' service game and groundstrokes were quite sharp. The second set was a bit closer, but Venus closed it out 6-3 to advance to the third round. In the third round, <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/olympics/ci_21208393/olympics-serena-williams-and-roger-federer-advance-olympic" target="_blank">Venus lost to Germany's Angelique Kerber </a></span><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/olympics/ci_21208393/olympics-serena-williams-and-roger-federer-advance-olympic" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">despite having leads in both sets</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vsxn7cGiUys/UCVpQYmoChI/AAAAAAAAAQs/_-ttOx7dP5c/s1600/Djokovic+preparing+to+serve+073112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vsxn7cGiUys/UCVpQYmoChI/AAAAAAAAAQs/_-ttOx7dP5c/s320/Djokovic+preparing+to+serve+073112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Foy-ZtgX_ww/UCVpUwE-pwI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/U2I6uG_M--c/s1600/Roddick+return+2012-07-31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Foy-ZtgX_ww/UCVpUwE-pwI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/U2I6uG_M--c/s320/Roddick+return+2012-07-31.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">the match that followed Venus Williams' win over Aleksandra Wozniak, </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Serbia's Novak Djokovic (above) </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">and </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">American Andy Roddick </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">(lower) were slated to play. In what could have been an exciting match-up at another point of their careers, this one did not live up to expectations. Sadly, I have to agree with <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/tennis/story/andy-roddick-swift-loss-to-novak-djokovic-wimbledon-only-male-american-tennis-star-still-drifting-aimlessly-073112" target="_blank">Greg Couch</a>, who says "it's getting hard to watch Roddick play tennis" these days. Even though men's matches were shorter by virtue of playing best of three, this match took only 54 minutes. The British crowd wasn't entirely disappointed since that brought them closer to the "feature matches" of the day: first up would be Scotland's Andy Murray vs. Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, to be followed by the Women's Singles match-up of England's Laura Robson vs. Russian Maria Sharapova.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SGWei8fYPFU/UCVwjV4xSgI/AAAAAAAAARQ/2FQu85_Kf0Q/s1600/Jarkko+receiving+073112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SGWei8fYPFU/UCVwjV4xSgI/AAAAAAAAARQ/2FQu85_Kf0Q/s320/Jarkko+receiving+073112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">When Andy Murray was introduced on Centre Court (above), it was clear who would be the fan favorite. The majority of fans were decked out with anything ranging from tiny British flags to full-size flags that they waved whenever Andy won a point. Like the earlier match between Djokovic and Roddick, Murray dominated throughout, owing largely to erratic play of Neiminen. In the end, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/31/london-2012-andy-murray-nieminen" target="_blank">Murray prevailed to win 6-2, 6-4</a>, setting up a </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">third round </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">match against the Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o4S7LehB3D0/UCVzrkHczgI/AAAAAAAAARk/9bAnpbA9aMg/s1600/Laura+Robson+serving+073112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o4S7LehB3D0/UCVzrkHczgI/AAAAAAAAARk/9bAnpbA9aMg/s320/Laura+Robson+serving+073112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6NZ12hwiP8A/UCVz_6UgwVI/AAAAAAAAARs/KjZjIqbfJvs/s1600/Sharapova+serve+073112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6NZ12hwiP8A/UCVz_6UgwVI/AAAAAAAAARs/KjZjIqbfJvs/s320/Sharapova+serve+073112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The last scheduled match on Centre court featured another British favorite, 18-year old Laura Robson, facing the No. 3 seeded woman, Maria Sharapova. Although I had vaguely heard of Robson, I had never seen her play. I was in for a pleasant surprise as she gave Sharapova a more competitive match than she may have wanted. And the crowd was clearly behind Robson. In fact, at one point, I asked my friend from England if the British crowd was more excited about Robson than they were for Andy Murray - I really got that impression. And her play did not disappoint! Even though Robson had only gotten into the Olympic draw as a last-minute substitute, her play proved worthy of the setting as she extended Sharapova to a tie-breaker in the first set. In fact, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/31/laura-robson-olympics-maria-sharapova" target="_blank">Robson came close to taking the first set</a> before Sharapova took a 3-0 lead in the second set. Even then, Robson fought back to 3-4 before losing the second set 6-3.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TiVembH2qnQ/UCV35pufG7I/AAAAAAAAASI/ziwpk7U1e_A/s1600/Lisicki+and+Kerber+doubs+073112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TiVembH2qnQ/UCV35pufG7I/AAAAAAAAASI/ziwpk7U1e_A/s320/Lisicki+and+Kerber+doubs+073112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">If the tennis on centre court was not enough, there was one more match to see before leaving the historic Wimbledon. A doubles match that had been scheduled much earlier had to be moved back after a long afternoon of rain. However, by the time Sharapova and Robson had finished, the rain had stopped and play was resuming on the outer courts. As a result, we got to see the Williams sisters play the tough German duo of Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki. Originally scheduled to play on court 2, they had been moved to a much smaller court (#12) where seating was scarce and fans had to bunch around the court to catch a glimpse of play. While the Williams sisters dominated play in the first set, winning it 6-2, the second was much closer as it went to 7-5. The win earned the Williams sisters a spot in the Women's doubles quarterfinals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Thus, ended a perfect day of Olympic tennis - for which I was grateful to be there! </span></div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-69075969968117742732012-08-01T16:57:00.000-07:002012-08-01T16:57:17.590-07:00BBC, Opening Ceremonies, and Ticket Backlash<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UTRcL72MOYg/UBm7RFoEgzI/AAAAAAAAAOw/HFdtylU7DI4/s1600/wiggins-olympics2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UTRcL72MOYg/UBm7RFoEgzI/AAAAAAAAAOw/HFdtylU7DI4/s320/wiggins-olympics2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Britain's Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins (R) in 2012 Olympic Men's Cycling.<br />
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The BBC has had great coverage of Olympic events. After attending the men's road cycling race on Saturday, July 28, we returned home to watch Olympic coverage on the BBC until midnight. Two aspects of BBC coverage really impressed me. First, the announcers did not yap continually and that was wonderful! Second, there were few if any breaks for commercials. [I discovered later that the reason for an absence of commercials was that people are charged 145 pounds per year for licensing fees. It might well be worth it as I think about it!]. Unlike NBC which may have 7 minutes of coverage followed by 3-5 minutes of commercials, there was no need to flip around the channels since there was constant action shown on BBC. This allowed the announcers to include coverage of a greater variety of sports, while also going into depth about who medalled in events of special interest.</div>
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I especially enjoyed watching the coverage of Opening ceremonies in England with my friend from High School, Laura Stewart, now married to a native Londoner, Mark Bradshaw. Their insights gave me a greater appreciation of the meanings of various aspects of the presentation that began with a panorama of the English countryside (which I had just seen on my flight into England the night before), followed by an enactment of changes that occurred as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Of course, the scene with "Mr. Bean" took little explanation and was apparently John McEnroe's favorite part of the Opening ceremonies. Mine was probably the scenario with the Queen, especially since I got to pose for a photograph with her in Wimbledon Village the next day:-)</div>
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The fireworks and torch at the end were magnificent. I'm not sure what it would have cost to attend the Opening Ceremonies, but I'm sure it would have been far too expensive for me to afford to have been there. Which brings me to my next point... the (un)availability of tickets.<br />
Tickets were especially difficult to find before coming to the Olympics - which discouraged many from making plans to attend the Olympics. Once here, I thought it might be easier to obtain tickets, only to find that there were few options available even for Londoners. It came as a surprise then to see so many unfilled seats at various venues, especially Wimbledon. Apparently I was not alone in making that observation, because several articles have appeared citing a <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/29/uk-oly-emptyseats-day-idUKBRE86R0YS20120729" target="_blank">ticket backlash</a> amongst British fans. I can certainly understand why they were upset. Initially, Sebastian Coe (who was in charge of the organizing committee) explained that many empty seats (on Saturday) may have belonged to sponsors or family members of Olympians. He speculated that perhaps the lateness of the Opening Ceremonies may have accounted for many not showing up for early events. Yet, when huge chunks of empty seats remained open on Sunday, the backlash intensified, as reflected by the above article. Officials have promised to fill the seats in the remaining days. But what is the plan to do that? <br />
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Here are some of my suggestions: 1. Why not use seat fillers? At the Academy Awards, seat fillers are used to replace people who leave to use the restroom. In this case, fans who might have to wait in a queue would be more than happy to watch tennis - even at a reduced price - until or if the ticket holder showed up for their seats. And if that person showed up, why not let the seat holder find another seat nearby? A similar system was used at the Australian Open (in tennis) and seemed to work well. 2. One problem with using seat fillers is that those who paid exorbitant rates for tickets might be upset if newbies took nearby seats at a reduced rate. However, what if all tickets were offered at the same price? Again, at the Australian Open, all seats cost the same, so it wouldn't matter if someone seated in the last row got a chance to move down to the first row before allowing those who bought reduced rate tickets to fill in the remaining seats. 3. Wimbledon offers a solution at its grand slam by allowing those with tickets to turn in their stubs after attending so that waiting fans can re-purchase them (again, at a reduced rate) to re-enter and take over seats for remaining matches. The Australian Open had a similar policy and it kept people circulating into the more prestigious seats. 4. Both Wimbledon and the Australian Open also attract swarms of people who buy grounds passes to walk around to various courts. Many of them would more than likely be willing to stand in a queue if they knew they might have a chance to move into more attractive seats - especially on the covered Center Court. When the only court that is covered remains unfilled during rain delays, there should be no excuse for empty seats, especially when there are likely to be literally thousands of people who would be ecstatic to occupy those seats - if only for a brief time. Perhaps we need an "Occupy the Olympics" Movement here!The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-70467710596699682542012-04-03T22:53:00.000-07:002012-04-03T22:53:54.525-07:00"Say it ain't so, Muffet!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I missed the press conference after Baylor's big win over Notre Dame in the NCAA Championship Basketball game. But it did not take long for me to hear about this <a href="http://itsalwayssunnyindetroit.com/2012/04/notre-dame-coach-muffet-mcgraw-says-brittney-griner-is-like-a-guy/.html" target="_blank">8-second clip </a>in which ND Coach Muffet McGraw said that Brittney Griner was like a "guy playing with women." Afterwards, Christine Brennan tweeted that she "Just asked <a class=" twitter-hashtag pretty-link" data-query-source="hashtag_click" href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23Baylor" title="#Baylor"><s>#</s><b>Baylor</b></a> coach Kim Mulkey about McGraw 'guy playing w/women" <a class=" twitter-hashtag pretty-link" data-query-source="hashtag_click" href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23Griner" title="#Griner"><s>#</s><b>Griner</b></a> quote. She strongly said she also takes it as a compliment."<br />
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Coach Mulkey may have taken it as a compliment after winning the national championship, but according to an <a href="http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/tournament/2012/story/_/id/7767542/kim-mulkey-irked-social-media-taunts-brittney-griner" target="_blank">article on ESPN</a>, she has been irked by taunts, insults, and criticisms of Griner that have been posted on social media for weeks. Many of those posts on message boards suggest that because Brittney dunks, she must be a man. Ironically, one of the biggest criticisms of women's basketball is that women don't dunk, so it's not as exciting to watch. Despite Griner's ability to dunk, Coach Mulkey has acknowledged her reluctance to do so because of all the criticism she has received.<br />
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Criticisms that have been made about Brittney Griner
illustrate what Mike Messner (1988) meant when he wrote it was "a double-edged
sword" to say that a woman plays like a man. Messner explained that on the surface it may be "a compliment to an individual woman's skills, but it also suggests that since she is so good, she must not be a true woman after all" (p. 205). In many of the comments that I have observed on social media I have noticed that people suggest - in not so flattering terms - that if Brittney can dunk, then maybe she is "really a man." <br />
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I began to notice such commentary when
Baylor played in the first round of the NCAA tournament at BGSU. I was
thrilled to see her play, and excited to see her dunk in practice (below)! <br />
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Later, it was fun to see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F2jGyihZd8" target="_blank">her first two dunks of the season</a> in Baylor's second round game against Florida! As exciting as it was to see, I was troubled to read the insensitive remarks that flooded social media and even some of the blogs that students were writing in my classes. If I don't want to be bothered by the comments on social media, I could just do what Brittney does - according to the ESPN article - and that is to ignore it. But as an educator, I feel that I need to take this opportunity to educate. That task becomes more difficult when someone who coaches a team in the NCAA National Championships makes the kind of comment that fuels further disrespectful commentary. I have to agree with another Twitter post that Christine Brennan wrote that said: "Even though <a class=" twitter-hashtag pretty-link" data-query-source="hashtag_click" href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23Griner" title="#Griner"><s>#</s><b>Griner</b></a> and Mulkey are taking the high road re: McGraw comment, why in the world did she say it that way?"<br />
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I wonder the same thing!The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-89475953724193855532012-04-01T08:44:00.001-07:002012-04-01T08:44:44.440-07:00In Response to Trayvon Martin's Death: Psychologists for Social Responsibility<br />
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My previous blog entry features a journal that was written by a student in one of my classes. After sharing the entry with a friend (and member of <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Psychologists for Social Responsibility), she forwarded the following letter that has already been sent to the Attorneys General of the United States and Florida.</span> I am posting this letter with her permission. </div>
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March 20, 2012</div>
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Eric H. Holder, Jr.</div>
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Attorney General of the United States</div>
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Office of the Attorney General</div>
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The United States Department of Justice</div>
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950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,</div>
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Washington, DC 20530-001</div>
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Attorney General Pam Bondi</div>
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Florida Office of the Attorney General</div>
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State of Florida</div>
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The Capitol PL-01</div>
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Tallahassee, Fl 32399-1050</div>
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Dear Attorneys General Holder and Bondi:</div>
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Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR) joins other
human rights groups in calling for further investigation into the death of
Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida on February 26, 2012. George Zimmerman, the man who admits to
killing Trayvon, remains free almost one month later. We believe the death of
Trayvon has not been thoroughly investigated, denying Trayvon’s family, the
community of Sanford and indeed our entire society a sense of true justice.</div>
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As an organization of psychologists and other mental health
professionals we are concerned about the loss Trayvon’s family and community
are enduring and the ways in which the justice system is failing them. We
believe the death of Trayvon and the reactions of the Sanford Police Department
to this killing have broad psychosocial impacts because they exemplify the
terror and trauma that racism inflicts on many Americans today. </div>
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According to the FBI, the single largest motivator (nearly
50%) of hate crimes in the United States is racial bias, with anti-black bias
accounting for 70% of offenses (<a href="http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2010-hate-crime-statistics">http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2010-hate-crime-statistics</a>).
On the 911 calls from February 26,<sup> </sup>2012 we hear Zimmerman
criminalizing Trayvon as a “black” man. These recordings reveal how racism may
have played a role in Zimmerman’s later actions, motivating Zimmerman to use
deadly force despite orders from the 911 police to stand down.</div>
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The Sanford police have so far failed to arrest Zimmerman,
who claims he shot Trayvon in self-defense, despite evidence in the public
domain that Zimmerman pursued Trayvon. The media also reports that other
African American crime victims have felt betrayed by the Sanford police, who
have been slow to press criminal charges in the past when victims are people of
color. It is no wonder that public outrage includes the accusation that racism
has been normalized and institutionalized in the Sanford Police Department. </div>
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The combined effects of this tragic killing and the failure
of the justice system to act swiftly allows for questions regarding the
permissibility of violence in our culture. The permission to stalk another
human and kill that person because of “suspicions” based, at least in part, on
the person’s race leaves a chilling effect on those of us who are concerned
with human rights for all. Anthony Marsella, past director of the World Health
Organization Psychiatric Research Center and past president of PsySR, says, “If
there is any meaning to come from the killing of yet one more Black man, one
more repetition of a killing that has crossed centuries and place, let it be
that this evil is confronted in all its forms across our land.” It is time for
national dialog on the lingering persistence of racism.</div>
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We urge you to ensure a thorough investigation into the
killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. At this point in time, we remain
unconvinced that justice has been served, that Trayvon’s death was in any way
justified, and that racism was not a factor in Trayvon’s death. </div>
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Sincerely,</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Psychologists for Social Responsibility</span>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-41646861563910803432012-03-31T11:00:00.000-07:002012-03-31T11:00:40.725-07:00Trayvon Martin: A Student's ReflectionI am posting the following journal entry that was written by a student in one of my classes. I asked for her permission to post this blog entry anonymously. She agreed... What would you say to her?<br />
[Note: I added the photo of Trayvon]. <br />
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I am writing this journal out because over the past couple of weeks my heart has really been breaking as I learn more and more about the Trayvon Martin case. I am troubled at the fact that a man could kill a young person and yet be free even after admitting he had killed the young man. There is plenty of evidence that Zimmerman had chased this kid down and killed him for no reason. The police calls, Zimmerman's history, the phone calls Trayvon made to his girlfriend before he was killed. Why has he not been arrested, charged, caught? I feel that this opens the door for more racist people to target people they don't like and get away with it. I'm writing this journal out of frustration.<br />
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I'm frustrated because all of my life I go to history classes that have only taught me about the enslavement, abuse, and deaths of people of similar skin color to me. I learn how my people have always been oppressed and have always been given the lower hand and have to fight continuously to get somewhere in life. I have to go to extra events, or read about how great my people really are as far as inventions and such. My people have been given up to sports because it was a sense of entertainment for other ethnic people. Other than that, everything is a fight, a struggle, and we get ignored or overlooked when we do not know the system. A white person will <b>Never </b>go to history class and have to view or try to make sense of pictures showing people of their color being hung, skinned, burned, shot, raped, beaten, picking cotton, tortured, chained, sold as property, or separated from their families. I try to tell myself that it is history and that the world has moved on, but such a tragic death like Trayvon's, only makes me wonder what is really going on. Why are people trying to ignore this like it is not a racial issue? Why is the system trying to make this shooting okay? You will <b>NEVER </b>hear of a African American person doing harm to a white person or anyone and getting away with it, or the system trying to deviate from the facts of the case to find a justification for the crime. There is no hope for this world.The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-41296148938092116072012-01-04T21:48:00.000-08:002012-01-04T22:30:18.122-08:00Serena doesn’t love tennis: What’s the big deal?<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uBO450vjCpk/TwUzwD3JZTI/AAAAAAAAAMs/7r3O027goBk/s1600/serena+admits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uBO450vjCpk/TwUzwD3JZTI/AAAAAAAAAMs/7r3O027goBk/s1600/serena+admits.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serena in Brisbane</td></tr>
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Now that tennis season is underway in Brisbane, Australia,
startling news has emerged from ‘Down Under.’ According to <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/02/sport/tennis/tennis-brisbane-serena-williams/index.html">reports</a>,
Serena Williams has acknowledged that she “is not passionate about the game she
has dominated for so long” (“Serena Williams,” 2012, para. 1). After saying that she doesn’t love tennis today, she admits in the next sentence that she
“can’t live without it” and doesn’t “want to go anywhere any time soon” (para.
2). Perhaps that is a relief to the WTA tour administrators who know how much the
Women’s Tour relies upon the Williams sisters to headline the sport. There is
an obvious drop-off in interest and television ratings when either Venus or Serena misses a tournament. I
have even heard tennis analyst Mary Carillo say that Serena Williams is the biggest draw in the game—in
men’s and/or women’s tennis! While some would take issue with that assessment,
Serena is arguably the most dominant woman player of the past decade.So how do we make sense of this "bombshell" from "down under?"</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zHj52jjQwy8/TwUzcdRrwYI/AAAAAAAAAMg/LRj10Q_j-BM/s1600/Andre-Agassi-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zHj52jjQwy8/TwUzcdRrwYI/AAAAAAAAAMg/LRj10Q_j-BM/s200/Andre-Agassi-001.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Agassi acknowledged hating tennis.</td></tr>
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When I first heard the reports, it reminded me of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/oct/29/andre-agassi-hate-tennis" target="_blank">Andre Agassi's admission</a> in his autobiography <i>Open </i>that
he hated the game he played for so many years. Perhaps the impact of
Agassi's admission was diffused by 'other sins' he confessed including
that he had taken crystal meth during a particularly difficult time in
his life. Even more surprising to students in one of my classes was the
admission that he wore a hair weave. Apparently, hating tennis was not the
worst sin to confess. In an earlier blog entry, I suggested
that it may be difficult for sports' purists to accept that professional
athletes might not love the sport that most would give anything
to play for a living. So when we see those who have the opportunity to
do so, making millions of dollars on top of that, it is difficult to
fathom how they would not <i>love </i>it (as we think we would). I am guessing
that the majority of Sport Management students would probably say that
their "dream job" is to play their sport professionally. <br />
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Many
students who choose Sport Management as a major believe that loving
sports is a sufficient prerequisite for being hired in the field. As a
result, professors in Sport Management repeatedly emphasize that loving
sports is <i>not </i>enough. There are so many other areas in which
students need to be proficient so as to excel in a Sport Management
position (e.g., understanding management principles, accounting,
economics, event planning, facilities, legal aspects of sport,
psychological and/or sociocultural aspects of the workplace, to name
only a few). So perhaps it should come as no surprise that professional
athletes also need to be proficient at so many other things besides
playing their sport. Not to mention that there are things professional
athletes have to do that have nothing to do directly with their sport--I can
think of nothing more draining than to have to travel on a regular basis
to do my job. Yet professional athletes (tennis players, in particular) must
do it globally on a year-round basis. </div>
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There is another aspect of Serena's bombshell that intrigues me even more, and that relates to comments by tennis analyst Brad Gilbert that were aired on <a href="http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/7419435/serena-williams-love-tennis-live-says" target="_blank">ESPN</a>. When asked about his response to Serena's statement that she didn't love tennis, Gilbert seemed to downplay the negative impressions so many others had expressed, pointing out that she appeared to be relaxed and was having fun with the press. He noted that she has been saying many of these things for the past 4 or 5 years. The next part of his explanation was especially instructive as I prepare to teach a class in "Sport & Gender" for the coming semester. Gilbert said that <i>"Serena's this great powerful athlete. But she wants everybody to know deep down she's kind of a woman... she's a girlie-girl. And she likes to get her nails done and she loves fashion. And she's still a great athlete--all in the same sentence."</i> My takeaway from this: there is still dissonance between being an athlete and being a woman. If you are a woman athlete, it is still "contested terrain" (to quote Mike Messner, 1988). Did anyone think Andre Agassi would have been more of a man if he had loved tennis?</div>
</div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-35951631277729931622010-11-24T13:22:00.000-08:002010-11-24T13:24:19.195-08:00Is Serena getting the shaft from Sports' Media?I wanted to attach the following link to an article that asks if Serena gets the shaft from Sports' Media. <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b7caN">http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b7caN</a><br /><br />Let me know what you think. I will post my thoughts on this later.The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-47701642583267987162010-11-04T09:35:00.000-07:002010-11-04T16:25:38.344-07:00Women's Tennis in the Global ContextIn the assigned <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29Tennis-t.html">reading </a>for today's SM 3950 class, Kimmelman (2010) addresses how power has changed the women's game in tennis. Since the women's professional tennis tour began in the early 1970s, one of the main ways it has changed is in who dominates the rankings. In its early days, the top-ranked women were primarily from the U.S: Billie Jean King (see below), Rosie Casals, Nancy Richey; and later, Chris Evert (below King, Tracy Austin, and Jennifer Capriati, to name only a few.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/TNM7QmesbrI/AAAAAAAAAKI/d3zV7T20dP4/s1600/BillieJeanKing.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: left; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 234px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 226px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535833523361705650" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/TNM7QmesbrI/AAAAAAAAAKI/d3zV7T20dP4/s320/BillieJeanKing.jpg" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/TNM8qW-EvoI/AAAAAAAAAKY/2CUOD34OEwI/s1600/chris-evert.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 219px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535835065386581634" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/TNM8qW-EvoI/AAAAAAAAAKY/2CUOD34OEwI/s320/chris-evert.jpg" /></a>Of course, two of the most popular women players today are from the U.S. (Serena and Venus Williams). But as Kimmelman indicates, with both nearing the end of their careers (Serena is 29 and Venus, 30), the next highest ranked woman player from the U.S. is <a href="http://www.wtatour.com/page/RankingsSingles/0,,12781~0~1~100,00.html">Bethanie Mattek-Sands </a>(No. 58), who is not exactly a household name. Meanwhile, since <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/19/sportsline/main6972906.shtml">the Williams sisters have been out of play </a>(due to injuries) Serena and Venus have now dropped in the rankings, to Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/TNM9dwY5uGI/AAAAAAAAAKg/cXmx1mszL9k/s1600/williams_sisters.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 227px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535835948383320162" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/TNM9dwY5uGI/AAAAAAAAAKg/cXmx1mszL9k/s320/williams_sisters.jpg" /></a>With the U.S. no longer dominating the women's (or men's) world rankings, the top 100-ranked women "now come from 33 countries, most of the best from Eastern Europe—countries like Russia, Serbia, Poland and the Czech Republic, nations hungry to nurture the sport" (Kimmelman, 2010, p. 3 of 6).<br /><br />A second way in which professional women's tennis has changed since it's genesis relates to the age of players. As mentioned in the article, there was a time when 13 year old girls could compete on the women's tour. This practice ended in the early 1990s after Jennifer Capriati burned out and was arrested for possession of marijuana. Many experts felt that her burnout was a direct reflection of starting to play professionally at such a young age. Capriati joined the Women's Tour at age 13, and she already had endorsement deals worth millions of dollars. When the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) decided that there needed to be an age requirement for girls to turn professional, the Age Eligibility Rule was passed. As a result of its passage, girls could play a limited number of tournaments at age 14, but they could not play a full slate of tournaments until they turned 18. ESPN commentator (and Fed Cup Captain) Mary Joe Fernandez believes that Women's Tennis might be missing out on talent as a result of the Age Eligibility Rule.<br /><br />Another recently passed ruling that effects the state of women's tennis is known as the "Road Map." Passed in 2007 and implemented in 2009, the 'Road Map' is aimed at discouraging player withdrawals and ultimately encouraging more meetings between the top-ranked players in women's tennis. A case-in-point was the recent season-ending tournament in Doha, Qatar, where the top 8 ranked players were invited. Only 2 of the top 8-ranked players were not in attendance (Venus and Serena), which might suggest that the Road Map has been effective in its aim to provide more meetings between the top players. However, another measure of players' success is how many grand slam tournaments they have won. Of the 8 players at Doha, two had won a combined total of 4 Grand Slam titles (Kim Clijsters won 3 U.S. Opens, while Mary Jo Schiavone won the 2010 French Open). However, among players who were missing at Doha (besides Venus and Serena, Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, and Svetlana Kuznetsova were also absent), those 5 players had won a total of 32 grand slams. By this measure, it appears that the Road Map is not as effective as had been hoped.<br /><br />On one hand, Professional Women's Tennis has been and remains the best-compensated sport in the world for women. To illustrate, Serena Williams won over $4 million while playing in only 6 tournaments this past year. Plus, she held the No. 1 ranking in the world until October 11, when Caroline Wozniacki took over at No. 1. Meanwhile, Serena, Venus, and Maria Sharapova each earned over $15.5 million in the past year, based on earnings and endorsements. From an economic standpoint, their earnings seem to reflect a sport that is flourishing. Yet, there are those who suggest that women's tennis is in crisis--not only because of the eventual retirements of the Williams sisters, but also due to the continuing injury problems that plague many of the top players. So serious is the problem that it prompted ESPN announcer <a href="http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/john-mcenroe-says/">John McEnroe to suggest that perhaps women's tennis should scale back its schedule</a>, since women may not be tough enough to handle the grueling schedule.<br /><br />So what do you think? Is there a crisis in tennis? Does that perception have anything to do with a shortage of top-ranked players from the U.S? What do you think about the comments of John McEnroe and/or Mary Joe Fernandez (or others) in this article?The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-16121744626159817342009-12-14T07:23:00.000-08:002009-12-14T07:32:56.749-08:00Serena Williams' "92K Mission"<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SyZZgBAZplI/AAAAAAAAAHM/JbfRKktkVTQ/s1600-h/Serenas+school+in+Africa.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415114008520402514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SyZZgBAZplI/AAAAAAAAAHM/JbfRKktkVTQ/s320/Serenas+school+in+Africa.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div>In an effort to turn Serena's record fine (see previous entry) into a positive outcome, she has taken the opportunity to raise money for the <a href="http://www.serenawilliams.com/blog_message_detail.php?msg=147">Serena Williams Foundation</a>. In a message sent December 12, Serena wrote as follows: </div><br /><br /><div>Hello all,<br /></div><br /><div>How are you all? I hope that all is well. I want to raise $92,000, to match what I am being fined from the ITF (international tennis federation) and donate it to some of my many philanthropic endeavors. The ITF denied my request to use some of the monies toward a charity of my choice-so I decided to match what I was FINED by raising money for the Serena Williams Foundation, my second Secondary school that will be opening in Africa soon, other charities & schools.<br /></div><br /><div>I will not only be raising money but I will be donating as well. I have started to gather personal clothes to give away as well as things that I have worn during tournaments to auction off. Dresses I wore a various Wimbledon's, US Opens, French Opens, Australian Opens, and more will be auctioned off and 100% of proceeds will go to my charity until we reach our 92k mission!!<br />As you know, I am an advocate for education. I will be donating money to schools in California and Florida because learning is key, and this experience has educated me beyond belief so I would also like to take this opportunity to educate Women about what I have learned from this experience. It does not matter if you are an athlete, student, teacher, attorney or a police officer, we as women should not be treated as less than equal. It is our right as HUMANS to be treated equal no matter race, color, or gender. I will start this mission by donating clothes to women Shelters throughout California. My first mission is to donate clothes to Liberty Social Services of San Diego County. I am asking that you all help me reach this goal in turning 92k into a great MISSION of Empowerment for Education & Woman!<br /></div><br /><div>Visit the Serena Williams Foundation to learn more about how you all can help me reach my 92k MISSION!!!<br /></div><br /><div>Thanks,<br /></div><br /><div>Serena </div><div> </div><div>So, I am interested to know what you think about Serena's "92K Mission?"</div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-3671990501151887172009-12-13T09:55:00.000-08:002009-12-14T07:31:29.419-08:00Record Fine for Serena Williams' Outburst<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SyUsVWxB57I/AAAAAAAAAHE/-dTBc7wdfz0/s1600-h/serena-williams-outburst-video-300x300.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414782872382990258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SyUsVWxB57I/AAAAAAAAAHE/-dTBc7wdfz0/s320/serena-williams-outburst-video-300x300.jpg" border="0" /></a>On November 30, almost 3 months after her well-documented "outburst" in the semifinals of the 2009 U.S. Open, the Grand Slam Committee announced a record fine for Serena Williams. Most <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2009-11-30-serena-williams-open-fine_N.htm">reports indicated </a>that Serena was fined $82,000, although the conditions of the fine were more complex. According to Bill Babcock, the Grand Slam administrator who was charged with reviewing the case and recommending the terms of the fine, Serena faces a "probationary period" of two years in all major grand slam events. If she has another "major offense" (as her outburst was classified), the fine would double to $175,000. and she would be banned from playing in the subsequent U.S. Open. <em>On the Baseline's</em> Aaress Lawless reported the <a href="http://www.onthebaseline.com/2009/11/30/serena-williams-receives-175000-fine-and-probation-for-us-open-outburst/">actual amount of the fine as $175,000</a>, noting that if Serena behaves properly during the next two years, that amount will be reduced to $82,500. While most reports referred to $82,000 as the amount of the fine, Serena pointed out that since she was previously assessed <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/melanie-oudins-stunning-rise-tennis-celebrity/story?id=8564635">$10,000 (the maximum on-site amount</a>), that actually brings the total to $92,000.<br /><br /><div>The highest fine ever levied before was in 1995, when <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzQ2-EwgdXQ">Jeff Tarango walked off the court </a>during a match at Wimbledon. After accusing Chair Umpire Bruno Rebeuh of being the "most corrupt" official in tennis, Tarango's wife later slapped Rebeuh. <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/tennis/story/1358464.html">Tarango was fined $48,000 </a>and not allowed to play Wimbledon the following year.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Just as the outburst evoked diverse responses from Serena's fans and haters, the announcement of the fine elicited widespread response as well. <em>The</em> <em>Washington Post</em> writer <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/30/AR2009113002988.html">Liz Clarke </a>cited the new CEO of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), Stacey Allaster, who hailed Williams as "a great champion and role model to millions" (para. 10). Noting that Serena had already apologized for her behavior, Allaster said that she had no doubt that Serena had "learned from this incident," adding that she doubted we would ever see her "act in this manner again" (para. 11). A less forgiving view was offered by commentator Mary Carillo who questioned why it had taken almost 3 months to return a verdict. According to Carillo, "Serena Williams physically threatened and verbally assaulted an official during one of the most watched tennis matches of 2009, and after three months of thoughtful, considered cogitation the Grand Slam Committee came up with 'Grand Slam Probation' and a 'suspended ban'? ...And half of what was deemed to be her fine? Boy, that ought to show everyone" (para. 13).</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>While many assessments considered the fairness of the fine in relationship to Serena's outburst, some writers weighed in on the process by which the decision was made. <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/303033-serena-williams-fined-but-not-forgotten">J.A. Allen suggested </a>that since the governing body of tennis could not really "separate its disciplinary practices from its financial needs," the result was that "the action taken by the ITF smacks of favoritism and impotence" (para. 34). Meanwhile, on <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/columns/story?columnist=ford_bonnie_d&id=4672434">ESPN.com, Bonnie Ford </a>hinted that the decision had already been telegraphed by the President of the ITF, Ricci Bitti, when he suggested that suspending Serena Williams would not make much sense since it would actually "penalize the people handing out the punishment" (para. 3).</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>Regardless of how the action has been evaluated, Serena has responded to the fine by speaking out and launching her own effort to match the amount for charitable causes. Shortly after learning of the record fine, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tennis/top-stories/Serena-Williams-slams-officials-for-being-totally-sexist-/articleshow/5326401.cms">Serena was said </a>to launch "an extraordinary attack on officials and former players in a bitter aftermath to her record fine" (para. 1). Suggesting that previous male players like Jeff Tarango and John McEnroe got off easy for their violations of tennis' code of conduct , Serena suggested that she believed her breach of etiquette was different because she was a female, saying that it's "Cool for 'MEN' I guess. Is it because they are all HEs and not a SHE like me? Being American, I guess, the first amendment, freedom of speech, does not apply to a SHE in this case? In any event, the Grand Slam committee, ITF and its staff did not hesitate to call, send a note, text, nor write letters after this incident. Ironic, is it not? ... I don't mind being fined. If I did wrong I accept the repercussions. All I ask for is to be treated equal," said Williams. (para. 7).</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>So, I am interested to know if you think the record fine was fair, and/or do you think there is a double-standard? </div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-63584183767975615452009-11-29T09:58:00.000-08:002011-11-19T12:23:50.306-08:00"The first key to writing is... to write"<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNU_HofAfPQ&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNU_HofAfPQ&feature=related</a><br />
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<i></i><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SxK25pKUn6I/AAAAAAAAAG8/fsEF-oZkIjo/s1600/finding-forrester.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409587203843334050" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SxK25pKUn6I/AAAAAAAAAG8/fsEF-oZkIjo/s320/finding-forrester.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 214px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><i> “You write your first draft with your heart. You re-write with your head. </i></div>
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<i>The first key to writing is to write.”</i></div>
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As wisdom goes, the above statements are so simple, yet so profound.<br />
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The above clip was posted by someone on my Academic Writing Club site yesterday. I was grateful for the inspiration. After watching <a href="http://www.youhttp//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNU_HofAfPQ&feature=related" target="_blank">the clip</a>, I wrote three single-spaced pages from my heart.<br />
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<i>"The first key to writing is to write.”</i></div>
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The mantra reminds me of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjR2E8kGqt4">first rule of "Fight Club</a>: "The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club."</div>
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But I digress.</div>
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Forrester's wisdom resonates with me for several reasons. First, I realize why I have been so enthralled with Andre Agassi's autobiography... because it was written from his heart. People have questioned why he revealed some of the things he did; they have suggested his revelations were "bad" for tennis. I think what he wrote is good for humanity. He has written about what it means to be human. That, according to my doctoral advisor, is what the humanities are about... learning what it means to be human. That is why I want to write... not because I <i>have</i> to write so many articles to become a full professor. But because I want to explore what it means to be human. And I want to share the discoveries that result from my exploration.</div>
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I remember another profound statement from the movie, <a href="http://scott-riffs.vox.com/library/video/6a00f48ce52037000300fae8d99867000b.html">Shadowlands</a>:</div>
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<i>"We read to know we're not alone..."</i></div>
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Perhaps that is why I am so avidly devouring Andre Agassi's book. Apparently I am <i>not</i> alone, since it is No. 1 on the <i>New York Times</i> bestseller's list.</div>
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How does this relate to the writing I have begun and want to pursue in academia? The writings of several scholars inspire me to write performance ethnography (<a href="http://www.webeasel.net/sites/icr/faculty/profiles/Norman_Denzin.html">Norman Denzin</a>) and autoethnography (<a href="http://sociology.osu.edu/lwr/">Laurel Richardson</a>). Richardson wrote one especially provocative article entitled "Writing as a method of inquiry." That is how I want to write... from my heart. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNU_HofAfPQ&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNU_HofAfPQ&feature=related</a></div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-83468474136366983272009-11-22T09:38:00.000-08:002009-12-10T21:13:18.367-08:00Andre Agassi is "Open"<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/Swl3nPAvIrI/AAAAAAAAAG0/FtlulfSj4pk/s1600/open+andre+agassi.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406984343563215538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/Swl3nPAvIrI/AAAAAAAAAG0/FtlulfSj4pk/s320/open+andre+agassi.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p>It comes as no surprise to me that Andre Agassi's new book, <em>Open</em>, has risen quickly to No. 1 on the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ref=pe_63460_13682420_pe_t1/0307268195">New York Times best seller list</a>. Since excerpts of the book leaked out, I have frequently been asked by students and colleagues about the admissions that Agassi used crystal meth and that he lied to the ATP after failing a drug test. While nothing much surprises me anymore, I wondered why Andre chose to reveal this information now--including the fact that he HATED tennis. Early in his career, Agassi was often criticized for not living up to his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMHH_AGCv-4">"Image is everything" </a>persona, as revealed by ads for Canon. In those commercials, audiences saw the image of a "rebellious" Agassi running his fingers through his long-flowing hair. The first reaction to Agassi's tell-all came from a student who was shocked to hear that Agassi wore a weave to obtain that look! As Paula Vergara wrote on <a href="http://twitter.com/tennisprof">Twitter, </a>people seemed more surprised by Agassi's admission that he wore a weave than by his confession that he used crystal meth and lied about it!</p><p>In my Sport History class, I have always defended Andre Agassi, arguing that he should not be considered an "anti-hero," despite <a href="http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/American-Sports-From-the-Age-of-Folk-Games-to-the-Age-of-Televised-Sports-6E/9780205665150.page">Benjamin Rader's </a>suggestion that he was. Instead, I have touted his accomplishments, since he became one of only a handful of players to win a career Grand Slam in tennis. Furthermore, I argued that his establishment of <a href="http://www.agassiprep.org/">Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy </a>more than atoned for his earlier indiscretions.</p><p>So, how can we understand the indignant responses to revelations in Andre Agassi's autobiography from so many in the tennis world? Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/atptour/6467608/How-tennis-world-reacted-to-Andre-Agassis-admission-of-taking-crystal-meth.html">expressed shock</a>, while Marat Safin suggested that Agassi should return all of his trophies. <a href="http://www.longislandpress.com/2009/10/29/navratilova-reaction-to-agassi-he-lied/">Martina Navratilova </a>likened Agassi to Roger Clemens, when she said that she felt “not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn’t own up to it. He’s up there with Roger Clemens, as far as I’m concerned." Really? <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/atptour/6467608/How-tennis-world-reacted-to-Andre-Agassis-admission-of-taking-crystal-meth.html">Andy Roddick </a>was one of the few to offer compassion when he said: “Andre is and always will be my idol. I will judge him on how he has treated me and how he has changed the world for the better." </p><p>In Andre Agassi's appearance on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB6m1UFkLv4">"60 Minutes"</a> with Katie Couric, he spoke candidly about hating tennis, while asking for compassion about other confessions in his autobiography. I'm not sure which of his confessions have drawn the most ire, but I get the impression that some people feel as if Andre committed the unforgivable sin by admitting that he hated tennis! So, why is that such a threatening confession? I think because it destroys the myth that being a professional athlete must be the greatest avocation in the world. How many kids grow up thinking that if only they can become a professional athlete, they will be the happiest person in the world? What if that isn't true? Worse yet, what if there are other athletes who feel like Agassi? Maybe that's the most threatening reality of all! </p>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-69180341368840340842009-09-27T10:44:00.000-07:002009-09-27T13:34:12.732-07:00Footfault! Reflecting on Social Media Coverage of a Controversy<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/Sr_Kmnf-4oI/AAAAAAAAAGU/SZ4lI-eWktQ/s1600-h/Serena-Williams-Foot-Fault-Video-US-Open-2009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386246444145369730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 173px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/Sr_Kmnf-4oI/AAAAAAAAAGU/SZ4lI-eWktQ/s320/Serena-Williams-Foot-Fault-Video-US-Open-2009.jpg" border="0" /></a> It has been two weeks since the controversial ending to the US Open semifinal match between Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters that garnered worldwide attention. For many who did not see the moment live, social media provided opportunities to revisit it in visual detail. In the two weeks since the semifinal match, I found over 20 YouTube sites (including this one: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE6Z5Q2tOk4&NR=1">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE6Z5Q2tOk4&NR=1</a>) that featured video footage of, or related to, Williams' footfault and her subsequent default. As of September 26, 2009, 3,365,889 views were recorded on those 20 sites alone. Nearly 10,000 viewers left Comments on these <strong>YouTube</strong> sites while countless others reacted to the news via <em>facebook</em> and <em>Twitter</em>.<br /><div><div><div><br /><div>I have been intrigued by the overwhelming response to the events that occurred in the semifinal match between Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters. I have been especially interested in examining what this outpouring means in terms of how global racism operates in the year 2009. And I have been saddened to see so much racist vitriol expressed by some viewers of the YouTube links. Using Twitter, I discovered an article on Mashable, a link that measures the activity on social networking sites. According to <a href="http://www.simplyzesty.com/social-media/serena-williams/">Fisher </a>(2009), “conversation on <strong>Facebook</strong> (was) mixed, but a search for ‘Serena Williams’ show(ed) up the majority of comments as being fairly derogatory” (¶ 2). Meanwhile, “a <strong>Twitter</strong> sentiment analysis tool” revealed that “the negative sentiment (was) overwhelming” (¶ 5). A search on google indicated that “reference to the outburst was already ranking at number 3 on a search for ‘serena williams’ (¶ 6). As to why the “majority of the commentary (was) overwhelmingly negative,” Fisher (2009) suggested that “a look at the discussion on the Serena Williams Facebook page shows that there is plenty of support out there for Serena Williams but it is confined to the space designed for fans” (¶ 7). Fisher further predicted that Serena's reputation was “undoubtedly taking a massive hit... The fact that the video (was) already ranking at number 3 in Google demonstrate(d) the power of social media and the need to build up a loyal online following” (¶ 8).</div><br /><div>I have observed loyalty to Serena Williams in several ways: through comments that have been posted on her blog and Twitter sites, and from listening to students discuss the incident in my "Sport & Gender" classes. Yet, I am still disturbed by the racist slurs made by commenters who seem to feel justified in expressing hateful sentiments because of the error in judgment that was made by Serena. This goes beyond "sincere fictions" that Feagin and Vera identified in their work. This seems like a simmering hatred that has been brewing beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed by an incident like this, that seemingly justifies such hateful rhetoric. This is a new, more blatant, in-your-face racism that is more troubling than ever. In a world where "free speech" is a valued commodity, how can we address this new form of racist hatred?</div></div></div></div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-59881570989638775842009-08-31T08:14:00.000-07:002013-03-13T07:54:52.828-07:00<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SpvqDGQiUSI/AAAAAAAAAFc/d0DpfZt_6Bs/s1600-h/Serena+on+the+line.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376147919137296674" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SpvqDGQiUSI/AAAAAAAAAFc/d0DpfZt_6Bs/s320/Serena+on+the+line.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" /></a> <br />
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I just finished reading the chapter about Indian Wells in Serena Williams’ new book, <a href="http://www.serenawilliams.com/book.php">On the line</a>. I heard about the book from Wayne Coffey, a <em>New York Daily News</em> journalist who wrote an article about the Williams sisters on the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of Serena’s first Grand Slam singles title (i.e., <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/1999/us_open/news/1999/09/14/open_wrap_ap/">she won at the 1999 U.S.</a> Open). <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/08/29/2009-08-29_10_years_after_us_open.html">Coffey’s article</a> appeared in the Sunday edition of the <em>New York Daily News</em>, on the eve of the 2009 U.S. Open. </div>
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In Serena’s chapter entitled “The fiery darts of Indian Wells,” she shares her perspective on what happened in the 2001 tourney after Venus defaulted before their semi-final match. For one thing, Serena says that Venus knew after her quarterfinal match against Elena Dementieva that she was hurting and might not be able to play in the semifinals. Following the established procedure for tournaments, Venus made an appointment with the trainer, and told her that she did not think she should play. The trainer was supposed to pass that information along to the WTA office, so an announcement could be made. As the time for the match drew closer, Venus wondered why an announcement had not yet been made. For whatever reason, either the trainer and/or tour officials must have waited until shortly before the match was supposed to have begun to convey the information about Venus defaulting. As it turned out, Serena bore the brunt of the angry crowd when she played in the Finals against Kim Clijsters two days later.</div>
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Serena wrote something that I thought was quite poignant, when she considered what <em>could</em> have been done, in retrospect, once the booing began during the final. This is what she wrote: </div>
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“I look back now and think something could have been done about this situation before it got out of hand. Some tournament official could have gotten on the loudspeaker and explained to the fans that Venus had been legitimately hurt, that I had nothing to do with her withdrawal, that every effort had been made to cancel that semifinal match in a more timely manner. Some effort could have been made to quiet the crowd. But no one did anything. The WTA people just sat there with their mouths open as all these people beat up on a little girl. The Indian Wells people just sat there with their mouths open, too. Everyone was in shock, I think—but that’s no excuse” (Williams, & Paisner, 2009, p. 81).</div>
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That was exactly how I felt at the time—I remember wondering why someone did not step in and make an announcement... why someone didn’t say that this behavior was totally inappropriate and uncalled for... I remember (when I was watching the match on television) that one of the commentators (Pam Shriver or Mary Joe Fernandez) said she had heard that something might happen during the final, since people were still really upset about Venus’ semifinal withdrawal. So, if that was the case, why didn’t tournament officials anticipate the possibility and take steps to be pro-active? That is something I never understood. </div>
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Here is a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcUcTMdn4dE" target="_blank">Youtube clip</a> of the beginning of the finals between Serena and Kim Clijsters, showing what happened when Richard and Venus came down the steps to their seats and the fans continued to boo. Whenever I show this clip in class, students are horrified! Most indicate that they fully understand why Venus and Serena continue to boycott the Indian Wells Tournament. So, why do the WTA officials still not “get it?”</div>
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Serena explained that the reason she and Venus have continued to boycott Indian Wells, is because she believes “it’s instructive, because I think we need to call out bad behavior, especially when it cuts across racial lines and is directed at our children” (Williams & Paisner, 2009, p. 82). She says it is about holding people accountable for their actions—I agree with Serena 100%. I have felt this way since the moment I saw what happened during that finals match. And I am even more convinced of that now, especially after reading this chapter by Serena! Even though Indian Wells has become a mandatory tournament (i.e., there are consequences for a player who does not play), Serena and Venus are adamant about not playing. According to Serena:</div>
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“I don’t care if they fine me a million dollars. I will not play there again. They can also suspend you from the next tournament, but my feeling is that if I go back to Indian Wells I’ll send the wrong message to little black girls who for whatever reason have chosen to look up to me… if they fine me, they fine me. If they suspend me, they suspend me” (p. 82).</div>
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Serena says she does not know whether their boycott will make a difference in the end—i.e., whether her stand will make a difference in the "ongoing fight for inequality." But as she points out, “you don’t get past racial tension by forgetting about it. You don’t just ignore this kind of prejudice and hope it goes away” (p. 83). She concludes that you make such stands “because you wouldn’t be here if someone didn’t make them for you, long before you were even born” (p. 83).</div>
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I believe it does—and will—make a difference that Venus and Serena continue to take a stand against the “bad behavior” at Indian Wells. And I also believe it is important for others to stand with them!</div>
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I do. <br />
Will you?</div>
The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-75234236408217782972009-02-01T11:30:00.000-08:002009-02-01T12:46:38.648-08:00Serena Captures Women's Singles and Doubles Titles in Oz<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SYYBdfiM-5I/AAAAAAAAAFU/zbgMjH2mhYo/s1600-h/serena_williams5_300.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297923617840757650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SYYBdfiM-5I/AAAAAAAAAFU/zbgMjH2mhYo/s320/serena_williams5_300.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />In a final that lasted 59 minutes, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/tennis/australian-open/williams-crushes-safina-for-10th-grand-slam-title/2009/01/31/1232818796964.html">Serena Williams captured her 10th Grand Slam Singles title at the Australian Open, beating Russia's Dinara Safina</a>, 6-0, 6-3. It was Serena's fourth consecutive singles win in Melbourne during an <a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/other_sports/tennis/view/2009_02_01_Serena_Williams_odds-on_No__1/">odd-numbered year (she won in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009)</a> . I was there in 2007 when <a href="http://www.rediff.com/sports/2007/jan/27shara.htm">she beat Maria Sharapova in the Finals, 6-1, 6-2</a>. Two years ago, Tracy Austin gave Serena very little chance of winning the first Grand Slam of the year, suggesting that Serena was not fit enough to endure the hot Australian sun. Yet, despite several close calls, Serena prevailed over the likes of Nadia Petrova, Shahar Peer, and Nicole Vaidisova. Although her early rounds may have been close in 2007, Serena left little doubt that she would win against Sharapova, as she came out sharp in the first set and dominated throughout. Thus, it came as no surprise to me that Serena won handily in this year's final, even though she again struggled in some of her early round matches.<br /><br /><div>Following her most recent win, <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=3876755&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines">Serena recaptured the No. 1 ranking</a> in the world, surpassing former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, from Serbia. Some argued that Jankovic was not deserving of the top ranking since she has yet to win a Grand Slam. That is a moot point now that Serena has re-secured the No. 1 spot. With her victory, the younger Williams also established herself as the top-earning female athlete of all time, <a href="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28904198/">winning a total of nearly $23 million</a> to pass LPGA golfer Annika Sorenstam. When compared to the <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/01/serena-williams.html">top male athlete, Tiger Woods</a>, Serena's earnings for her career are about the equivalent of what Woods earned in all of 2008, despite his being injured for part of the season. In addition to capturing the Singles title, Serena teamed with sister Venus to win the Women's Doubles with a convincing <a href="http://sports.aol.ca/article/williams-sisters-win-australian-open-doubles-title/506443/">6-3, 6-3 win over Danielle Hantuchova and Ai Sugiyama</a>.</div><div></div><div> </div><div>With the resurgence of the Williams sisters, Women's Tennis appears to be in good shape with the bulk of the season lying ahead. And yet, as the Williams sisters return to the spotlight, the WTA faces an inevitable showdown when the Tour travels to Indian Wells March 9-22 of this year. Since 2001, the Williams sisters have boycotted the tournament formerly known as the Pacific Life Open. And <a href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/03092008/3/venus-serena-risk-suspensions-indian-wells-boycott.html">there has been no indication that they will discontinue their boycott </a>despite the <a href="http://www.onthebaseline.com/2009/01/02/the-2009-sony-ericsson-wta-tour-roadmap-guide/print/">WTA Tour's new "Road Map"</a> that was approved by the WTA Executive Board. According to the new tour guidelines, the Indian Wells Tournament is one of four tournaments that the players must enter, at the risk of being penalized. In my view, the Williams sisters are right to continue their boycott of Indian Wells. In <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/sports/tennis/06williams.html">an article by the <em>New York Times</em> Christopher Clarey </a>(2008), Serena was quoted as saying: “I’m not going to be playing at Indian Wells,” Serena Williams said in an interview last month. “I’ve had some extremely life-altering things that happened to me there. So I told Larry Scott there are things that happened there that he understands shouldn’t happen, especially me being African-American" (para. 7). </div><div></div><div> </div><div>While the powers that be in tennis attempt to find a way to negotiate with the Williams sisters, hoping to circumvent the inevitable confrontation over Indian Wells, is it possible that they might be persuaded to revisit the events that occurred at Indian Wells in 2001? Perhaps in doing so, they may discover that Venus and Serena have had good reasons to continue their boycott of the event. </div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-42172563397773495702009-01-19T20:03:00.000-08:002009-01-19T21:21:04.706-08:00From Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" to "Yes, we can!"<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SXVaCP0nbJI/AAAAAAAAAFE/o3tj6og9Lac/s1600-h/Obama+says+yes+we+can.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293235931697343634" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SXVaCP0nbJI/AAAAAAAAAFE/o3tj6og9Lac/s320/Obama+says+yes+we+can.jpg" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293234971082917058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SXVZKVQShMI/AAAAAAAAAE0/HT5TASMY3k0/s320/MartinLutherKingIHaveDreamlg.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><div><div> </div><div>Fifteen years ago, <a href="http://www.mlkday.gov/about/overview/index.asp">Congress voted to designate Martin Luther King Day as a day of service</a>. For many, the memory of Martin Luther King evokes a moment when he gave <a href="http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm">a speech </a>on August 28, 1963, before a crowd of over 250,000 near the Lincoln Memorial. That speech is now remembered by four words, "I have a dream," but it began as a transcript that King ultimately put aside to deliver one of the most memorable speeches in American history. On that fateful day, as King drew to the close of his prepared remarks, the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, urged him from behind to <a href="http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/democrac/38.htm">tell the people about his dream</a>. Upon further urging from Jackson and the crowd, King delivered his famous speech to all who had gathered for the March on Washington.</div><div></div><br /><div>King spoke of his dream being deeply rooted in the American dream, as he said... </div><div> </div><div><a href="http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/democrac/38.htm">"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"</a></div><br /><div></div><div>Fast forward to November 4, 2008, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbrmG7dk9cQ&feature=related">the U.S. people elected Barack Obama</a> to become the first black President of the United States. As we commemorate Martin Luther King's "dream," the U.S. is on the verge of history, anticipating the remarkable <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTBfCzX0TpQ">inauguration</a> of Barack Obama. Perhaps it is fitting that the President-elect has answered the call of Martin Luther King, Jr., by declaring, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbrmG7dk9cQ&feature=related">"Yes, we can!"</a></div></div></div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-11918854000280355192009-01-05T13:30:00.000-08:002009-01-14T10:59:01.418-08:00Revisiting Indian Wells, 2001<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SWJ8XG5eh6I/AAAAAAAAAEA/rlvcgfbjRYE/s1600-h/venus+and+richard+williams+entering+indian+wells.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287925648916907938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SWJ8XG5eh6I/AAAAAAAAAEA/rlvcgfbjRYE/s320/venus+and+richard+williams+entering+indian+wells.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>On March 15 2001, I was eagerly anticipating the sixth meeting of the Williams sisters as they were scheduled to play in the semi-finals of the tournament at Indian Wells. Venus and Serena Williams were two of the most exciting players in women's tennis and I was intrigued by watching them negotiate their encounters while still maintaining their close bond as sisters. I was excited to see two proud, strong African American women beginning to dominate in the sport I had played, taught, and followed for most of my life.<br /><br />Needless to say, I was disappointed when ESPN announced that there would be no match, since Venus had defaulted, citing knee tendinitis.<br /><br />My disappointment evoked feelings I had back in the mid-1980s when I taught tennis at UCLA. An ATP tournament was scheduled for the UCLA courts and John McEnroe was slated to meet John Lloyd in the semi-finals. I looked forward to seeing the infamous McEnroe play on the same courts where I taught. About 30 minutes before the match was scheduled to begin, McEnroe called it in—saying he was too sick to play. The tournament directors hastily organized an exhibition match that was of little consolation to the fans. The majority of the people in that crowd had come to see John McEnroe, not a last-minute substitute.<br /><br />Herein lies one problem with tennis--when someone defaults, there cannot be a meaningful substitution--no matter how skilled the players who are called upon to substitute. Even if Jimmy Connors had agreed to play at the last minute, that match at UCLA would not have "mattered" to the angry fans who anticipated seeing McEnroe.<br /><br />In this regard, tennis is very different from other sports. Suppose I wanted to take in a Cleveland Cavaliers' game and to see one of the most exciting players in the game, Lebron James. If I paid for a ticket and traveled two hours to see him play, I would understandably be disappointed if I found that he had been scratched from the line-up due to injury. Despite my disappointment, there would-in all likelihood-still be a game because the Cavaliers have enough players to field a team even if Lebron cannot play. Yet, if a tennis player defaults in the semi-finals or finals of a tennis tournament, even a strong substitute opponent cannot play a "meaningful" match.<br /><br />So, I <em>understand</em> the disappointment that fans may have felt when Venus defaulted to Serena.<br /><br />What I do not understand is what occurred two days later, when Serena played Kim Clijsters in the finals. Keep in mind that Serena was only 19 years old. Also keep in mind that tennis has historically been a game in which certain protocol is followed when watching tennis--fans are expected to remain silent (for the most part) during play, and they typically applaud politely for well-played points, even if it is for someone who is not their favorite player. With the possible exception of Davis Cup, fans do not usually applaud or respond vociferously to one player's misfortunes (i.e., serving a double-fault, hitting a shot into the net, etc.)<br /><br />Given these assumptions, I watched with great consternation as Serena was introduced at Indian Wells, amidst the loud booing of fans. I was further dismayed to see that the booing continued after play began, with obvious unsettling effects on Serena—she lost the first 3 games of the first set. Somehow, <a href="http://www.rte.ie/sport/tennis/2001/0318/tennis.html">Serena managed to win</a> <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2001/03/17/indian010317.html">4-6, 6-4, 6-2</a>. However, when Venus and father Richard Williams entered the Stadium, the booing and ugliness grew worse. According to <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/stories/2001-03-26-williams.htm">Richard Williams</a>, about a dozen fans hurled racist epithets and someone spoke of skinning him alive. While tournament director Charlie Pasarell admitted that he was “<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/stories/2001-03-26-williams.htm">embarrassed for Serena and humiliated by the crowd</a>” his response to Richard’s allegation was curious. When asked about the racial taunting, Pasarell commented “<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/stories/2001-03-26-williams.htm">If Richard says someone yelled something, maybe they did, but I know that's not Indian Wells people</a>." Apparently we live in a time when there is what Eduardo Bonilla Silva terms <em>Racism without racists</em>. </div><div><br />I remember thinking at the time that tennis would finally have to confront the reality of racism. Indeed, <em>New York Times</em> journalist <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/sports/bio-vecsey.html">George Vescey</a> wrote in 2002 that the Williams’ sisters could lead tennis into a more “enlightened era” by forcing tennis to come to terms with racism. Sadly, it appears that tennis has not yet done that. Most recently, the Women's Tennis Association (<a href="http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=2582">WTA) Tour CEO Larry Scott announced its Road Map</a> for 2009. Included in the provisions is a requirement for top-ranked players to play in four tournaments, including Indian Wells. Players who do not play will be sanctioned by not being allowed to enter two subsequent tournaments. That could obviously have huge ramifications for rankings points, but would also be a disappointment for fans. </div><div></div><div>The <a href="http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/sisters-williams-boycott-indian-wells-tournament">Williams sisters have boycotted Indian Wells</a> since the racialized incident that occurred in 2001. Therefore, it is likely that this issue will come to a head in March 2009, barring unforeseen circumstances that could lead to a settlement before that. What troubles me most about this impasse is that the WTA does not seem to have (publicly) acknowledged that the Williams sisters’ reasons for boycotting Indian Wells are valid. I believe it behooves the tennis world to revisit the events that occurred at Indian Wells on March 15 and March 17, 2001. If I were the Williams sisters, I would insist upon a public apology for what happened at Indian Wells and seek an assurance that such an ugly incident would never happen again!</div><div></div><br /><div>Next: “The Roadmap to Nowhere?”</div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-56931531962351377452008-12-11T20:38:00.001-08:002009-01-04T15:40:00.501-08:00Preparing for 2009 Wimbledon<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SUHraqVr3iI/AAAAAAAAABI/lWY_W1w-0AE/s1600-h/center+court+at+wimbledon.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278759081529302562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BGy-BDYs9HE/SUHraqVr3iI/AAAAAAAAABI/lWY_W1w-0AE/s320/center+court+at+wimbledon.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><br /><div>The above photo of center court appears on the <a href="http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/about/tickets/tickets.html">home page of Wimbledon </a>(arguably the "mecca" of the tennis world). I plan to attend the 2009 Championships. Originally, I had hoped to travel to both Wimbledon and the <a href="http://www.fft.fr/rolandgarros/default_en.asp">French Open</a> in 2007, after having attended the 2007 <a href="http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/index.html">Australian Open</a>. Since I was on sabbatical in the spring of 2007, my plan was to travel to each of the four main tournaments (i.e., the <a href="http://www.usopen.org/en_US/index.html">U.S. Open</a> is the final Grand Slam of the calendar year, an event that I have attended on more than one occasion). Unfortunately, it did not work out. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>Today, I took the first step toward obtaining tix to Wimbledon by sending for an application for the 2009 public ballot. In order to send for the application, I had to enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope as well as an International Reply coupon (to cover postage). I had never heard of an International Reply coupon, but fortunately, there was a supervisor at the Post Office who knew what I needed and was able to help me purchase it. The cost was about $27.00 to send the form Express Mail, and it should be returned first class in 8-10 days. I hope I can send the application in time. The application form was available between 1st August, 2008-15 December, 2008. Since I am sending for it so close to the deadline when it must be submitted (31 December) it could be a tight turnaround. The form and information about it is available at the following link: <a href="http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/about/tickets/tickets.html">http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/about/tickets/tickets.html</a></div>The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-56162507651040452282007-01-28T15:02:00.000-08:002007-01-29T02:21:36.266-08:00Day 14: Sunday, January 28It is now Monday and I am writing my final entry about the Mixed Doubles and Men's Singles finals, which you may have already seen. Since the Men's singles was played in the evening, I did not get back to Ormond College until after midnight, and that was too late to write my last blog entry. I did go back to the courts earlier today to meet with the tournament director and he provided some great insights about the research that I am doing so I was really grateful to be able to meet with him, especially after what must have been an ordeal for the past several weeks.<br /><br />Back to Sunday's matches...<br /><br />Only two matches were scheduled for Sunday, with the MXD final at 4:00 p.m. featuring Daniel Nestor (CAN) and Elena Likhovtseva (RUS) against the Belarussian pair of Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka. Both teams were unseeded and had to advance to the final by way of several upsets. Like the earlier doubles finals, the stadium did not fill until closer to the time of the Men's Singles final, but about 2,000 or 3,000 fans arrived in time to see the Mixed Doubles. Each team held serve in both sets to go to 3-3, but that is where Nestor and Likhovtseva managed to break, in what is often referred to as the "crucial 7th game." From there, they simply held serve to win each set and the match, 6-4, 6-4. The biggest difference in these two teams was the relative inexperience of 17-year old Azarenka, who had never been to the final of a Grand Slam event. Needless to say, she received excellent mentoring from her countryman, Max Mirnyi, and he praised her potential after it was over. Nestor and Likhovtseva had been to the MXD finals last year which they lost, so winning this year's title was especially sweet for them. It took only an hour and 19 minutes to capture the title.<br /><br />Between the MXD finals and the introduction of players in the Men's Singles finals, entertainment of Jimmy Barnes was featured in Garden Square (to see his website, you can go to <a href="http://www.jimmybarnes.com/">http://www.jimmybarnes.com/</a>). Since it was still a bit nippy, most fans opted for dinner and stayed within the confines of Rod Laver Arena. That was my decision as well.<br /><br />Shortly after 7:00 p.m., fans began to fill the arena in anticipation of the Men's finals. In place of the ever-present Swedish contingent, there were numerous Swiss fans wearing red t-shirts with a white cross in the middle. Several Swiss fans of Federer sported noticeable wigs (perhaps you saw them on t.v?) and one person held up a sign that said, "Quiet: Genius at Work"). The fans for Fernando Gonzalez were colorfully decked out as well, wearing t-shirts that read "Red Hot Chilean," or "Go Gonzo." As the arena filled, chants and cheers echoed throughout the stadium, which heightened the excitement. Before the player introductions, Guy Sebastien was introduced with two back-up singers. They sang the theme song of the tournament, "What a wonderful world."<br /><br />Finally it was time to introduce the players, and both were greeted with loud applause from the audience: first, the No. 10-seeded player from Chile, Fernando Gonzalez, entered the stadium, followed by the No. 1 seed, Roger Federer, winner of three of the last four Grand Slam titles (the question is: will he be able to win the French Open? I will give my thoughts on that a bit later). One other significant person was introduced after the players--for the first time ever, a woman, Sandra DeJenkins umpired a Grand Slam final of the Men's Singles. She received a rousing ovation from fans as well.<br /><br />After a ten minute warmup, play began with Federer serving. I will not go into details of what happened in the match, largely because for once I watched what was happening instead of taking notes. But I formed impressions that I would like to share with you. Many people have spoken of the genius of Federer, how easy he makes it look to execute some of the shots that he makes. What I could not tell from watching on television was how quick he is. That is partly from keen anticipation, but he also accelerates the racket head faster than anyone I have ever seen (Agassi was comparable I would say), especially on his ground strokes. I was surprised to see that he did not try to break serving records. In fact, I do not recall seeing one of his serves that registered over 200 km, and yet he won his service games handily--often at love. The reason I believe he does that is because he uses his serve to set up the next shot, much like I remember Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors doing. Neither of them had an overpowering serve, yet if an opponent returned their serve, that is when the shots came back harder than before. So it was with Federer. He could attack from the baseline with both his forehand and backhand, or could go to the net and put shots away. In sum, he has a complete game. That is something you can tell from television.<br /><br />Gonzalez was no slouch either. In fact, he gave Roger perhaps one of the best matches he had to play. In the final, I sat next to a man from New Zealand who had also seen Federer's match against Roddick, and he said that Gonzalez' speed made Roddick look slow in retrospect. Gonzalez hit serves as hard as 210 km and probably had more aces than Federer, but he also had far more unforced errors. On occasion, he managed to hit outright forehand winners but in many cases, even shots that had been winners in previous matches were anticipated by Federer who was able to put them away. Nonetheless, there was a point at 5-4 with Gonzalez serving at 40-15 when he had two attempts to win the first set. On one of those points, Gonzalez had a chance to hit a forehand groundstroke, but he netted the shot. Once Roger got to deuce, he won that game. The two players each held serve and at 6-all, they played a tiebreak, which Roger won easily, 7-2. Notably, the first set alone lasted longer than the entire Women's Singles match.<br />It is easy to think of what could have been if Gonzalez had won the first set, but there was definitely a sense among fans that once he lost the first set, Federer would probably win the next two. And yet, Gonzalez held on at the beginning of each set, again until the score reached 3-3. That was when Federer won the all-important 7th game and went on to win the second and third sets, 6-4, 6-4. The whole match lasted well over two hours and was of high quality, as the man next to me indicated. One other thing was noteworthy about the match and awards ceremony that followed, and that was that the majority of fans stayed in their seats until the end of the ceremony. If they were like me, they did not want the whole experience of the Australian Open to come to an end.<br /><br />This brings me to my prediction for the French Open. The big question on Federer's resume is whether he can win the French, since that is the only Grand Slam that has eluded him. I was thinking about that during the finals match, and it occurred to me that what the slow clay courts do is defuse Federer's quickness and allow his shots to set up for others to run them down. Thus, a good clay courter (like Nadal, especially) can get to his shots and overpower or hit returns with greater consistency. In the Australian Open, Nadal was not at his best, but there are plenty of proficient clay court specialists waiting to give Federer fits at the French Open. I am eager to see what happens in May and June when he plays in the French Open. I am also eager to see how Serena Williams does in the remainder of the year because she has definitely shown that she has shown that she will be a force with whom players must reckon! Until then, I will say cheers one last time. If you would like to email me, my address is: <a href="mailto:nspencr@bgsu.edu">nspencr@bgsu.edu</a><br /><br />Cheers from Melbourne!The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-70732860152320502152007-01-27T03:28:00.000-08:002020-03-08T10:57:49.040-07:00Day 13: Saturday, January 27The day of the Women's final began with howling winds, overcast skies, and eventually rain showers, which meant that the roof of Rod Laver Arena was closed for the match. That was a good thing for the fans but not so good for Maria Sharapova, or so she said afterwards (i.e., that she would have preferred to have the roof closed on Day 2 when the Extreme Heat Rule went into effect). If you did not get a chance to see the Women's Singles final, I will give you a recap. If you did see it, then you know this--Serena Williams is back!!<br />
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Before I tell you about the Women's Singles final, let me say a few words about the Girls' Singles final that was played beforehand on Margaret Court Arena. As mentioned yesterday, the Girls Final featured No. 1 seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) against 16th-seeded Madison Brengle (USA). Because of the rain, the match started a bit later than the 12:30 time for which it was slated. Brengle must have broken serve in the first game, because she lost her serve just after I sat down in MCA, and that made the score 1-1. I was able to watch five more games before going to my seat in RLA for the WS finals, and Brengle was up 4-3 when I left. In the games that I watched, Madison seemed to be playing consistently and was moving the ball around although it was clear that Anastasia had good depth and power on her groundstrokes as well. Brengle has a nice rhythmic looping forehand stroke and drives it deep to the corners. She can also get pretty good pace on her backhand. I had noticed in the junior matches I had watched Friday that there were no IBM signs to indicate how fast the players were serving. At the time, I thought maybe it was to keep them from being concerned about how hard they were hitting the ball, which I assumed to be a good thing at the time. However, in the Girls and Boys' finals, the IBM trackers were on court, so I guess that was not the rationale after all. The average speed of the girls serves were around 150 km while the boys served as high as 205 km. Interestingly, Serena Williams hit 199 km on more than one occasion, so that tells you how hard she was serving. As to the outcome of the Girls Singles, Pavlyuchenkova edged Brengle in two tie-breaks, 7-6, 7-6 (for more on that match, see the Australian Open website: <a href="http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2007-01-27/200701271169885300772.html">http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2007-01-27/200701271169885300772.html</a>). In light of those scores, I wish I could have seen more of the match. It certainly turned out to be much closer than the Women's singles final.<br />
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The Daily Schedule and Draw sheet had touted the match-up between Williams and Sharapova as a "Battle of Willpower." In previous matches, they had faced each other a total of 4 times, and each had won twice (Serena won in the Round of 16 at Miami in 2004 and in the semi-finals of the 2005 Australian Open which she also won; Maria won both times that she played in 2004--both times in final matches--at Wimbledon and the Tour Championships at the end of the year).<br />
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In this match, Sharapova won the coin toss and elected to receive, which seemed a bit odd at the time, until I remembered her comment after her semifinal match against Clijsters, that she would need to work on her serve since she had too many double-faults. From the moment Serena began to serve in the first game, she was totally focused. You could see it in the close-ups of her face as she changed ends. You could see it in how deliberate she was when she took her time to serve, and you could sense her intensity as she prepared to return Sharapova's serve. Unlike her match against Vaidisova, when Williams frequently seemed to be on the defensive, Serena took control from the start and dictated the pace and direction of shots before Maria could get into a rally. This put Sharapova on the defensive and meant she was always playing from behind. When the players changed ends with Serena up 5-0 in the first set, I noted that it looked like she was playing in the zone, and I am sure that was how Maria felt as well. On the first point of the 6th game, Sharapova hit a shot that nearly hit Williams, and it was clear from the replay on the big screen that Serena was none too pleased about that shot. That would turn out to be the only game that Sharapova won in the first set, as Williams held serve to win the first set, 6-1. In looking at the statistics for the first set, a woman sitting behind me noted that Williams had actually hit more unforced errors (7) than Sharapova (4), but of course the key statistic--winners--was where Serena had 15 to Maria's 5. In the second set, Serena jumped out to a 4-0 lead as well, before Sharapova came back to win her first game. In the second set, Maria managed one more game before Serena ended it 6-2 to win the final in less than an hour. To read more about the Women's Singles final, you can also go to the Australian Open website: <a href="http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/match_reports/2007-01-27/200701271169870806507.html">http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/match_reports/2007-01-27/200701271169870806507.html</a><br />
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U.S. television coverage of the Australian Open does not always feature the awards ceremony, so I will fill you in on some of the highlights. It took 10-15 minutes to set up the stage and usher in the speakers. After they did, the award for runnerup was presented to Sharapova, who showed her respect for Williams when she said: "First, I want to congratulate Serena. I know that you can never underestimate Serena Williams. I don't think many of you in the media expected to see her here in the finals, but I did. I know how tough she can be. She's a great champion." [Are you listening, Tracy Austin?]. The presentation of Serena as Australian Open Champion was even more compelling since she dedicated her win to her sister Yetunde, who was shot and killed in Compton, CA several years ago. It was a tragic event that Serena and Venus have both been reluctant to talk about after their tennis matches, and Serena was understandably emotional when she dedicated her play to her late sister. It was quite moving.<br />
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The Women's Singles final was followed by the Men's Doubles final, featuring the No. 1 seeded team of Bob and Mike Bryan (USA) vs. second-seeded Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, about whom I have written before. Although the Bryan brothers are from the U.S., I had never seen them play (live) so it was a pleasure to see this match. Unlike previous teams that Bjorkman and Mirnyi had been able to subdue with winners after 4 or 5 shots, the Bryan brothers seemed to anticipate where so many of their shots were going, and that made for some great rallies, and unanticipated returns of shots. Both sets appeared to be going to tie-breaks, but instead the Bryan brothers were able to break serve in the 12th game of each set to win in the final, 7-5, 7-5. This would be the last time to hear the Swedish cheering squad and they too met their match in a group of young boys and girls who were determined to outyell the Swedes. I must say that the cheering duel almost rivaled the play on court.<br />
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One final match remained following presentation of the Men's Doubles awards, and that was the Boys' Singles final. This Australian Open was the first time that a Grand Slam had featured a junior final on the center court. Since one of the finalists was a boy from Australia, Brydan Klein, that may have entered into the decision to stage the Boys' final in Rod Laver Arena. Klein's opponent was the No. 1 seed, Jonathan Eysseric (FRA). Their pairing appeared to be as lopsided as the rankings of Williams (#81) and Sharapova (#2) going into their final. But the rankings proved to be deceptive in the Boys' final as well. Apparently the Player Development program in Australia has benefited the young Aussie, although having the crowd in his court, so to speak must have helped as well. Brydan won the first set rather easily, 6-2, but went down to his lefty opponent Eysseric, 3-1 in the second set. It appeared that the seeding might hold to form as the young French player showed the form that prompted his seeding. Eysseric had remained poised throughout his first set loss and that allowed him to put together a second set win, 6-4. But Klein was not through after all, as he fought back to win the third set, 6-1. Needless to say, the Aussie crowd gave a warm ovation to Brydan Klein for his victory, but even more when Patrick Rafter was introduced to do the honors of awarding the trophy.<br />
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That was it for the play in Rod Laver Arena on Saturday, but there were two other matches besides the Girls' Singles that were played on Margaret Court Arena. I am sorry that I did not get to see those, as they were the Men's and Women's Wheelchair Singles finals. In the Women's Wheelchair Singles final, the No. 1 seeded Esther Vergeer (NED) defeated 2nd seeded Florence Gravellier (FRA), 6-1, 6-0. The Men's Wheelchair singles went the distance as No. 2 seeded Shingo Kuneida (JPN) outlasted 3rd seeded Michael Jeremiasz (FRA), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Perhaps one day the three matches that were played on MCA will also be played in RLA.<br />
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In the meantime, I am finishing yesterday's entry on Sunday and it is nearly time to leave for today's matches. Before the Men's Singles will be the Mixed Doubles Final. I only wish Jonas Bjorkman were still in the MXD:-) Hope we get to see some good matches. Cheers!The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4016827071090546963.post-72909697770086613412007-01-26T03:35:00.000-08:002007-01-26T04:29:19.877-08:00Day 12: Friday, January 26Today is "Australia Day," which is a national holiday!<br /><br />As a result, there was an abbreviated tennis schedule and the matches that were played did not start until 3:00 p.m. This may have been because there were parades in the morning, and fireworks at night. I learned that Australia Day celebrates the history of the (white) settlement of Australia, when Captain Arthur Phillip landed on the shores of New South Wales on January 26, 1788 (See the following website for further info: <a href="http://www.australiaday.gov.au/pages/page98.asp">http://www.australiaday.gov.au/pages/page98.asp</a>). I was surprised to learn that the history of Australia dates back only 219 years, but then I imagine that it parallels the history of the United States in overlooking the presence of indigenous peoples when white settlers landed on both continents.<br /><br />In any case, I thought it would be interesting to ask Australians what it meant to be an Australian, and/or what Australia Day means to them. Surprisingly, I found that most people didn't really know what it represented. One person said it was like our Labor Day; another said it was when the Australians gained independence from the British. But after asking two students from Ormond College (where I have been staying), they said that Australia remains part of the monarchy but still has its own constitution, which they have had since January 26, 1901. Like our Independence Day, there are also fireworks in the evening, and it just so happened that they began tonight as the Men's Singles semifinals between Tommy Haas and Fernando Gonzalez came to an end. Once again, it was great timing!<br /><br />As for the tennis, it was a bit of a day off for me, or at least for my credit cards. I did get a grounds pass, and saw parts of several matches, but the big coup came in getting tix to the Men's and Women's singles finals on Saturday and Sunday. Although not quite as good as the ticket I had yesterday, I am still lower than Row PP so I cannot complain.<br /><br />Back to the tennis I saw today. The first match I saw part of was the Women's Doubles final that was played in Rod Laver Arena. I watched it on the Big Screen in Garden Square just in front of Rod Laver Arena. That area is much like I imagine Henman Hill at Wimbledon, with people lounging on the grounds, some sitting at tables, others on benches, and still others sitting on blankets on the ground. I had been thinking that I would watch the Men's Finals match there as well, since I have not had much luck in getting tickets for Men's matches, but since I landed one today, I will be happy to sit in Row LL instead. The Women's Doubles final featured the third-seeded team of Cara Black (ZIM) and Liezel Huber (RSA) vs. the unseeded Chinese team of Yung-Jan Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE). Apparently, they upset the higher seeded team of Yan/Zheng in the semi-finals, 6-3, 6-4. When I got to Garden Square, Chan and Chuang were about to take the second set tie-break to split sets with Black and Huber. In the 3rd set, the more experienced team of Black and Huber cruised to win 6-1.<br /><br />My next stop was Show Court 3 where Madison Brengle (USA) played in the Girls' Singles semifinals against 3rd-seeded Ksenia Milevskaya (BLR). When I arrived, Brengle had won the first set, 6-4 and was down 4-1 in the second. I was impressed by Brengle's movement on the court, and like most young players in the Women's draw, both girls seemed to want to end points with hard-hitting groundstrokes. Gradually, however, Madison worked her way back into the second set and eventually won it 7-5. She will now face No. 1 seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the Girls Singles finals, which will be played just before the Women's Singles final tomorrow.<br /><br />A Girls' Doubles match followed on Show Court 3 but I watched only the first two sets, since I hoped to catch another Mixed Doubles semifinals, and it was starting to cool down considerably. The No. 1 seeded team included Julia Cohen (USA) and Urszula Radwanska (POL) against Evgeniya Rodina (RUS) and Arina Rodionova (RUS). Cohen and Radwanska won the first set easily, 6-2, and appeared to be in control in the second, but as can happen in doubles, the momentum turned around the fifth game, and the Russian team of Rodina and Rodionova went on to win the second and third sets, 6-3, 6-1. If the junior players are any indication, it appears that what tennis writers have referred to as the "Russian Revolution" will continue.<br /><br />After the Girls' Doubles teams split, I decided to head back to Ormond College since it was starting to get cool. I thought I would watch the Men's Singles semifinal match between Tommy Haas and Fernando Gonzales on t.v. Besides, I wanted to get a good night's rest for the Women's Singles final that will be tomorrow. In the meantime, Happy Australia Day to Bec McMillen and any other Australians who may be celebrating January 26! Cheers!The Tennis Prof Chronicleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13839741108504821211noreply@blogger.com2