Serena Williams is making me eat my words … again.
Here’s why:
I fully expected Venus and Serena to do to the records in women’s tennis what Tiger Woods has done (and is doing) to the records in golf.
Alas, they have not. In fact, of the 43 Grand Slam titles that have been up for grabs since they turned pro in 1998, Venus has won only 7 and Serena 11. By comparison, in less than half that time – from 2004 to 2008 – Justine Henin won 7 titles. And at 29 and 27, respectively, it seems a pipe dream that either Venus or Serena will ever surpass Steffi Graf’s feat of winning 22 titles, let alone Margaret Court’s 24.
(“Serena…Triumphs at Wimbledon,” The iPINIONS Journal, July 6, 2009)
Except that, remarkably, Serena looked more invincible than ever yesterday – as she routed a very game Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 to win her sixth U.S. Open Championship. Imagine going through an entire two-week Grand Slam tournament – in what are supposed to be the waning years of her career – and not giving up a single set?!
More to the point, though, this marked her 18th Grand Slam singles title, putting her in the rarefied company that I clearly doubted she would ever be.
By winning Sunday, Williams, 32, matched Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for fourth on the all-time list of Grand Slam winners, behind Margaret Court (24), Steffi Graf (22) and Helen Wills Moody (19). She also matches Evert with six U.S. Open titles in the Open era.
(NPR, September 7, 2014)
Frankly, I still think it will take a miracle for Serena to surpass Steffi. But there seems little doubt that she stands a far better chance of winning another five Grand Slams to do so than Tiger stands of winning another five Majors to surpass Jack Nicholas’s record of 18.
Incidentally, like the Baseball records White players set when Blacks were not allowed to play, I put a disqualifying asterisk next to Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slams. You know, just as most sports writers have put a disqualifying asterisk next to Barry Bonds’s record of 762 home runs….
In any event, I could not be happier to have already been proven so wrong about the future prospects of a professional athlete.
Serena earned $4 million for this championship, which is a record for any tennis player (male or female). Except that:
Wimbledon has finally decided to follow the politically correct fashion of other Grand Slams. It too will award women players equal pay for unequal work. But surely any proud (and principled) feminist must take exception. After all, to get equal prize money, women should play the best of five sets like men do, or men should play the best of three sets like women do.
Tennis should follow the politically correct fashion of athletics and triathlons. For example, to earn equal prize money, women must run the same 26.2-mile marathon and complete the same chauvinistically named Iron Man, respectively.
(“Hail to 4-time Wimbledon Champ Venus Williams,” The iPINIONS Journal, July 9, 2007)
Accordingly, I hereby reiterate my call for women to either be required to play the best of five sets too, or be paid only three-fifths of the championship money men earn.
Still, congratulations Serena!
That said, given that Venus is still my favorite of the Williams sisters, I feel compelled to at least acknowledge the painful, pitiful way Sjögren’s syndrome, the incurable autoimmune condition she contracted a few years ago, is ravaging her skills. She not only lumbered out in the third round in singles; she proved too much weight even for Serena to carry them beyond the quarterfinals in doubles.
Related commentaries:
Hail Serena … 2013
Hail, Venus…
U.S. Open equal pay…
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