Myths and Facts Regarding Venus and Serena Williams

By Ahmed Sule

Ever since Venus and Serena turned professional in 1994 and 1995 respectively, they
have set the tennis world alight. Between them they have won a total of fifteen Grand
Slam ladies single titles and seven Grand Slam women doubles titles in addition to
several other titles including two gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

However, despite their contributions to the game of tennis, the sisters are one of the most
underrated, unappreciated and disliked figures in the game and have been subject to
various negative commentaries and debates from a cross section of tennis pundits, players
and fans.

This paper discusses some of the most common myths regarding the Williams sisters and
separates the facts from falsehood.

Myth#1: The Williams sisters’ recent success is due to the retirement of top grade
players like Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters etc.

Fact: Even when these players were on the circuit, the Williams sisters were still winning
championships. Here are the facts: Justin Henin career started in 1999 and ended in 2008,
during that time, Venus won six Grand Slam women’s title, while Serena won eight
Grand Slam titles. Furthermore, Serena also has a superior head to head win/loss ratio
against Justin Henin of 7 to 6. During Kim Clijsters playing career Serena and Venus
won eight and five Grand Slam titles respectively. Serena also has a 7-1 win loss record
against Kim

Myth#2: Matches between Serena and Venus are fixed. This issue has been subject to
intense debate among tennis lovers and was recently mentioned by Elena Dementieva at
the recently concluded 2008 Wimbledon Championship.

Fact: The sisters have met in the final of seven Grand Slams in the last nine years. The
matches between the sisters tend not to be as exciting as against other opponents they
meet in the final. However, there is a reason for this and it is definitely not due to match
fixing.

In the black society, the family structure plays a significant role in the development of the
individual and community. There is a strong family bond that is very difficult to break by
people, issues and circumstances external to the family. This is prevalent in most black
communities including Africans, African Americans and Caribbean’s. If you look at a
number of black personalities you will notice the role family plays in their lives. For
instance, Tiger Woods always looked up to his father for support when competing in key
tournaments. Lewis Hamilton’s father and brother make it a point of duty to attend every
race that he competes in. At his recent victory at the British Grand Prix, Lewis mentioned
that his family was of such help to him in winning the race. Furthermore, Barack Obama
(the presumptive Democratic nominee in the forthcoming US election) always emphasis
the importance of family values and has the strong backing of his family. Without the
family structure in the black society, it is difficult for the black community to stand.

As a result of the above, sibling rivalry is not usually encouraged in the black community
as family comes first. So when the Williams sisters meet in a final, both players undergo
a lot of emotional pain, as they do not want to see the other hurt should one of them win.
It is therefore difficult for each of them to be motivated to play at the highest level of
their game. Infact, I as a black man who was at Wimbledon to watch the final, felt
uncomfortable supporting any of the sisters in the final as I understood the pain that each
of the sisters would be going through during that final. When Venus won the match, she
was very cautious in her celebration as she did not want to upset her little sister.
Furthermore, their father had to fly back to America during the final as he could not bear
the sight of seeing his two daughters competing in the final of the Wimbledon event.

It is for this reason and no other reason that the matches between the sisters does more
often than not does not often meet up to the expectation of the crowd.

Myth#3: Venus success at Wimbledon is due to the short two week break between the
French Open and Wimbledon.

Fact: Venus like other players in the circuit competes in both the French and Wimbledon
Championship; as a result, she faces the same level of fatigue that other players are
subjected to. Infact, it is even tougher for Venus as she also competes in the doubles at
Wimbledon. For instance, in this years Wimbledon, Venus and Serena had to play almost
every day during the fourteen day Championship as they ended up playing 13 matches
each despite the fact that they both competed in the French Open two weeks earlier.

Myth#4: Venus Williams is ineffective in other courts besides Wimbledon

Fact: Wimbledon is the greatest Grand Slam event in the world and if a player can excel
in it by winning it five times, then she must be regarded as one of the greatest players of
all times.

Venus has won a total of seven Grand Slam ladies singles title out of which two were
won outside of Wimbledon. She has also won two mixed double titles at the Australian
and French Open. She has won seven Grand Slam ladies double titles, out of which four
were won outside Wimbledon. She has also won two Olympic gold medals in the ladies
single and ladies double event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In total, Venus has won
thirty seven single ladies titles out of which twenty two of these were won on hard courts,
seven on clay, and five on grass (Wimbledon) and three on carpet surfaces. These
victories clearly demonstrate that Venus is not only effective at Wimbledon, but she is
effective on other surfaces.
Myth#5: The Williams sister have had an easy ride because they have spent a significant
amount of time outside tennis (through injury or to pursue other interests), which gives
them an advantage when they resume back.

Fact: The sisters have obviously had their fair share of timeout of the tennis circuit which
has been often been due to either injury or to pursue other interests outside of tennis such
as fashion, acting etc.

However, for sportsmen and women, it is often difficult to make a comeback after
sustaining an injury or spending time out of the sports that they excel at. This is due to
two reasons, first the other competitors would have been playing regularly (during the
absence of the top sportsman or woman) and have the opportunity to hone on their skills
and improve on their weak areas. Second, the returning sports person will be a bit rusty
upon return. Therefore, the absence of the Williams sisters outside of the tennis circuit
actually puts them at a competitive disadvantage relative to their other peer. How the
sisters are able to come back after a long lay out is a testament to their tenacity. In 2006
for instance, Serena was out of the tennis circuit for most of the year due to injury; as a
result, her ranking plummeted from number 11 to 139. However, she made a comeback
and despite entering the 2007 Australian Open as an unseeded player, she won the
tournament by crushing the top seeded Maria Sharapova in two straight sets in the final.

Myth#6: The Williams sisters have made the ladies tennis game boring through their use
of their power serves and aggressive approach to the game. They grunt like animals and
perhaps should just compete in the men’s circuit.

Fact: The Williams sisters are not the only female players that make noises when they
play; as a result, it is unfair for them to be singled out for condemnation. It is on record
that Maria Sharapova, who is adored by most tennis loving fans, has the loudest grunt in
women’s tennis of around 100 decibels. What generates this noise is the sudden release
of energy and as offensive baseliners, it is only natural for the Williams sisters to shout.

Furthermore, players such as Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and crowd favourite Sharapova
all make use of power in their game. The Williams play to their strength, so no one
should begrudge them for that.

The headlines listed below have been used by the media to describe most of the sister’s
successes on the court:

“Venus, Serena ride 'power tennis' into semis”

“Venus & Serena Williams power into Wimbledon semifinals”
“Williams sisters power through”
“Venus Williams's Power Proves Too Much for Seles”
“Venus Williams too strong for Russian teenager Alisa Kleybanova”
“Venus powers into Wimbledon final”
“Venus too strong for Brit”
“Venus Williams too strong for Clijsters”
“Williams Too Strong For Sharapova”
“Williams too strong as injury undermines Mauresmo”
“Sweet and sour for Zheng as Serena powers on to the final”

However, listed below are the headlines used to describe the successes of other tennis
players:

“Sharapova rallies to reach WTA semi-final”

“Wimbledon: Maria Sharapova sets new trend”
“Sensational Sharapova wins Australian Open”
“Jankovic wins battle worth the money”
“Brilliant Sharapova hammers Henin”
“The Magnificent, Delightful, Ivanovic Wins French”
“Maria Sharapova raises her game”
“Hantuchova wins second tour title”
“Ivanovic loving life at number one after barely breaking sweat in first round clash”
“Serbian sensation Ivanovic rockets into third round”

The headlines attributed to Serena and Venus often ignores the fact that these girls are
great athletes and skilled tennis players. Rather than making the ladies game boring, the
sisters have raised the bar of ladies tennis, which has resulted in other ladies having no
choice but to improve. This has made the game more exciting.

It is time for the Williams sisters to be appreciated for their intelligence, knowledge of
the game and skills rather than being described as physically strong and powerful.

Myth#7: The Williams sisters do not take the tennis game serious enough as they usually
take time out of the circuit.

Fact: The Williams pursue other interest outside of tennis such as acting, fashion etc.
Infact Venus has her own fashion range and recently completed a degree in fashion. The
sisters do not have a one-dimensional attitude towards tennis and are well rounded
individuals who have a life outside of tennis. However, despite all of these other interests,
the sisters still take their game of tennis much more seriously than most of the other
players in the current circuit. This is evidenced by their longevity as they have been
around for over a decade and while those who started with them have since retired, the
sisters are still waxing strong and have no intention of leaving the sports in the
foreseeable future.
Myth#8: The Williams Sisters have an undue advantage relative to other ladies due to a)
their style of play and b) time taken out of tennis.

Fact: The offensive baseline style of both sisters is just one tennis strategy among many
other strategies that could be adopted. As a result, there tennis style has its advantages and
disadvantages. The disadvantage of their style is available to be exploited by opponents
adopting other strategies.
Rather than having an undue advantage, the Williams sisters more often than not have had to
face several significant obstacles on the path to greatness.

For instance, they have often played tennis matches in front of hostile crowds. For instance
during a semi-final match at the Ericsson Open at Indian Wells, Serena was booed
throughout her match against Kim Clijsters. Furthermore, during the 2003 Semi Final French
Open match between Serena and Justine Henin, majority of the crowds laughed and jeered at
Serena’s whenever she made a mistake, furthermore, she was even booed whenever she made
double faults. The hostility of the crowd left Serena weeping and she said after the match “It
was just a tough crowd out there today, I’m not used to crying. It’s a little difficult. All
my life I’ve had to fight. So it’s just another fight I’m going to have to learn how to win. I’ve
got to just keep smiling.”

Furthermore, Venus was recently diagnosed with anemia. As a result, she did not participate
in many competitions prior to the commencement of the 2008 Wimbledon Championship
relative to her peers. However, despite her condition, she was still able to win the ladies title
for a fifth time.

Myth#9: The sisters have not made much contribution to the game of tennis

Fact: Apart from their contribution on the court as exemplified by the various titles won etc,
they have also made contribution off the court.

Being African Americans, the sisters have succeeded in attracting a number of black people
around the world to the game of tennis. Their success has also generated interest among
people from less privileged backgrounds who previously had seen tennis as a game
dominated by the affluent in the society. As a result, the game of tennis is better of with the
diversity that the sisters have brought to the game.

Venus Williams played a major part in ensuring that ladies got equal pay with men at the
Wimbledon Championship, by continuing with the work of earlier pioneers such as Billie
Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. In 2005, Venus met with officials of the
French Open and Wimbledon arguing that ladies should be paid the same as men. She then
wrote an article in the Times in 2006 titled “Wimbledon has sent me a message: I'm only a
second-class champion” in which she argued that the inequality diminishes the value that the
tournament places on ladies. Eventually, the pay disparity at Wimbledon was cancelled.

Ahmed Sule
suleao@aol.com
July 10, 2008