What the hell is the matter with Women's Tennis at the moment? Seeds 2 and 3 have gone out in the first week of the Australian Open, and the tour continues to be dominated by someone noone likes. Alright, I'm sure that some people like Serena Williams, but she is one of those polarising sports figures that is a bit like Mel Gibson. You either like her, or just don't. And there are not to many people, at least from the people that I talk to, that actually like her. Simona Halep fell to a Chinese player that had never previously won a Grand Slam match. Garbine Mugaruza was meant to be the player that was going to be the next big thing in women's tennis. But not only did she lose in round 3, she lost in round 3 in straight sets to the world number 48. She didn't even put up a fight. Venus Williams lost in the first round, which was incredibly disappointing after her strong 2015. At the ASB Classic in NZ, a comparitively lowly 250 event, she also lost early in the tournament.
I know from attending that event in NZ this year, that having a marquee player like Venus going out early puts added pressure on a tournament. Obviously the organising committee's want their top players to go deep in the tournament. But also, it is good to have a bolter to liven things up a bit. A good example of what a tournament wants was displayed at the men's event in Melbourne in 2008. The semi-finalists that year were Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic (the top 3 seeds) and Jo Wilfred Tsonga (who was unheralded at the time). Everyone at the tournament that year was really behind Jo, and urged him on to the final. And since I arrived in Melbourne only in time for the semi-finals that year, it was awesome to see Federer and Nadal, even though they were the two losing semi-finalists. In the final, the supporters were either the fanatical Serbians supporting Djokovic (who were the minority), or everyone else (who were all supporting Jo). When Jo won the first set, the crowd almost erupted into a battle. The cold reality is that the men's tennis tour props up the women's tour.
Women's tennis as it currently stands just doesn't have the ability to generate the kind of popularity that men's tennis has had for the past decade. In the men's game you have had consistent beloved champions like Federer and Nadal. In the early 2000s, players like Marat Safin and Andy Roddick also inspired devotion. But when you think about it, men's tennis has Andre Agassi to thank for its enormous popularity today. His resurgence in 1999, and exciting power-hitting baseline play, has inspired a high level of devotion to the sport that has persisted throughout. Women's tennis has just not had any consistent beloved champions. Although players like Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova are undoubtedly talented and mostly liked, they just haven't been consistent enough. Perhaps the greatest shame of the women's game in the past decade was the departure of Justin Henin, she was someone who could put the fight to Serena. And her small stature and fighting spirit despite it, inspired a loyal fan base. You almost have to ask the question whether the equal pay for women that players like Billie Jean King and Venus Williams fought so hard for in the mid-2000s is actually justified. Does women's tennis provide the same financial value to Tournaments and Media that the men's game does? Almost definitely not.
In summary, while this is a very harsh thing to say, I feel that I must say it; the dominance of Serena Williams (and the inability for anyone to challenge her) has destroyed women's tennis, and has made it one of the worst sporting spectacles around. In mean; women's golf, horse jumping, and basketball are all far more interesting. But on the other hand, the rivalry between Federer and Nadal has enlivened the men's game, and has made it the greatest year-round sporting spectacle in the world today. The tournaments all need to give a collective bow to Federer, Nadal and Agassi, because they have made professional tennis what it is in the 2010's.
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