DOUBLE STANDARDS IN TENNIS

Remember when Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic posed in their skimpy swimsuits?



Recently, Serena Williams did this (via onthegotennis.com)
http://tinyurl.com/6yc5qxk

When I checked my Blackberry today and saw my timeline blow up about Serena, I was wondering what was the problem. Lo and behold I finally got a chance to see what was causing all the journalists to come out in high dudgeon against Ms. Williams. Lo and behold, it was because she chose to change her twitter Avatar with the picture cited above.

I have to say that I am a bit stunned at the reaction of tennis journos, and especially that paragon of tennis journalism, Greg Couch. Mr. Couch states that “Still, Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic photos are never quite as gritty as Serena’s”. Hum, maybe they are not as gritty as Serena, simply because despite what advertisers and others would have us think you are either born with it, or you have it bestowed upon you. In Ms. Williams’ case, put her in sack cloth and ashes and she would still make Sharapova, Ivanovic and Kournikova look ordinary.

However, that is not the reason for this post. This post is about the hypocrisy that pervades throughout tennis journalism, and no where is it more evident but in the way how women’s tennis is covered and the way in which the women’s game is portrayed by journalists.

Separate and apart from the righteous indignation of Couch who would have us think that he is only defending Serena’s honour in thinking that for someone who has been the victim of a stalker (and he had the gall to cite Erin Andrews, but more anon), but how dare she post a picture that conjures up so much meaning and putting it out there for another stalker, or the same one, to think that he was invited to do it once again. How dare Serena Williams actually try and be a woman. A person. An individual. How dare she?

If I was 10% convinced that Mr. Couch’s heart was in the right place, I would ask him to get into high dudgeon at the way the media has chosen to deal with women’s tennis since this 2011 tennis season has commenced:-

1. There have been 4 Premier Mandatory tournaments played since the tennis season began. Of these 4 Premier Mandatory tournaments, the women’s portion of those events have only been airing since the quarter-finals. Tennis Channel, ESPN and the other networks that broadcast tennis do not believe that women’s tennis is worthy of being watched by millions of viewers and so the women are hardly shown and when they are shown, we are given highlights or interrupted play. I do not recall Couch and many other journalists bemoaning that fact.
2. When Todd Woodbridge chose to comment to Rennae Stubbs via text message that the possible reason for Kim Clijsters looking so grumpy and her breasts looking full must mean that she is once again pregnant. Correct me if I am wrong folks, but I do not recall anyone defending the invasion of Clijsters’ privacy with such a disgusting remark. I think most women would agree with me that if you had to get up and look at Mr. Couch’s face every day, and indeed listen to some of the male commentators on tv, you would perhaps be grumpy as well.
3. How about the constant belittling of professional women by referring to them as girls? If there is anything more demeaning to listen to is having grown ass men referring to women who could buy them 10 times over as girls. I will keel over and die the next time I hear commentators refer to the likes of Federer and Nadal as boys.
The cries of indignation by people like Couch infers and/or implies that because Serena was the victim of a stalker she should not have posted such a suggestive picture of herself. I guess that means that women who get raped while on dates should never ever go out on another date. Or how about women who get attacked viciously while going about their normal business? According to Mr. Couch, they must be asking for it, or indeed, they should change their lifestyle to minimize the chance of them being attacked. Are you serious Mr. Couch? He seems to think that Serena posting a picture of herself is an invitation to the lunatics, like the one who stalked her, and therefore, Serena, a free adult should be bound by fear, according to Mr. Couch, and not post pictures of herself, no matter that this is a free society, because the likes of the stalker who was recently hauled before the Florida Courts could be tempted to do this again.

As someone who has been a victim of personal crime, I find it insensitive and downright obnoxious that someone like Mr. Couch could ever deem to hold himself out as a moral authority as to women’s rights. Mr. Couch has used his position as a journalist to besmirch and downright call down fire and brimstone on the head of the Williams family, and Serena Williams in particular. Mr. Couch has absolutely no moral authority, imagined or otherwise, to even call Serena Williams to account.

It would have been good if Mr. Couch was sincere in his chastising of Ms. Williams, but his previous rants against Ms. Williams and indeed her whole family, the most recent of which was his abominable rants that Ms. Williams, knowing that she could not play an exhibition event for Nike, implied, inferred and colluded with Nike to have her name on a billboard promoting said Nike event. The fact that Ms. Williams was then diagnosed as suffering a pulmonary embolism, had to be rushed to the hospital for a subsequent hematoma, as a result of a cut on her foot, which to this day, Mr. Couch, and others of his like thinks is a figment of Ms. Williams’ imagination, notwithstanding his stance and others like him that Ms. Williams was not in fact injured, but was saving herself for the majors. I am yet to hear any apology from any of those members of the media who called into question, Serena’s continued absence from the Tour.

Therefore, it strikes me as a bit rich, that Mr. Couch of all people should be coming out and purportedly chastising Ms. Williams for putting herself in danger, seeing as she had been the victim of a stalker. You cannot have it both ways. It is either Ms. Williams is a lying, cheating hypocritical heifer who makes up injuries in order that tournaments can sell tickets, or she is injured, or she is the victim of a stalker, or is it that Ms. Williams, like most women, needs a man to look after their interest, because she is incapable of doing so herself.

Mr. Couch is of the view that Serena’s personality and character are big for women’s tennis. He believes that people like Schiavone (a very talented player and a Grand Slam champion) do not draw crowds to tennis matches or fans are not drawn to her. Clearly, he did not watch today’s match with Schiavone and Hantuchova, when Schiavone showed us just why she is a Grand Slam champion. She had the crowd in Centre Court in her home country on their feet with her performance today. Perhaps Mr. Couch should have been watching that match, rather than trolling the internet looking at Serena’s twitter picture (or maybe he did not get to see it seeing as it was not on Tennis Channel).

Mr. Couch and his cohorts in the media, and those who continue to use their positions to deride the women’s game need to be called to account. For too long they have used their positions to belittle the women’s game.

The constant criticism of the grunting in women’s tennis, never mind that the current No. 1 player in the world, grunts like he is climbing Mount Everest and having a hard time of it. The current No.2, Novak Djokovic (grunts), Verdasco (grunts), Federer (grunts), almost every single Spanish player (grunts), some of them so loud that you cannot even hear the commentary in the booth at times. The only comment is this “what an effort from [insert name here]. When the women do it, they are not exerting effort. Oh no. They are just doing it because they are cheating. It annoys me that former players such as Carillo and Navratilova have joined the bandwagon in criticizing the women’s game in relation to this but I guess if you want to be considered one of the boys, what better way than to join up against the women.

Of course the women grunt, but they also play tennis. How about commenting on the tennis and leave the grunting out of it. Is it distracting to fans? Sometimes, it is. Is it turning fans away? Only because the media continues to put emphasis on the issue. During every single broadcast of a tennis match featuring Azarenka, Sharapova or Venus, the first thing that you hear is the hue and cry about grunting.

I, like many fans of women’s tennis are waiting for the day when Serena Williams returns to the tennis court. As it is she is not playing the French Open. Rather than the media speculating about a picture that Serena Williams posted, how about letting fans know who the early round contenders are? How about doing some homework before the start of play so that fans can be properly advised about the current crop of players.

I will not be holding my breath for that to happen.

ROME – SHAFTED AGAIN

I feel like I am beating a dead horse. A really dead horse.

Last week it was Madrid. A few weeks ago it was Miami. Before that Indian Wells and now we are in Rome. The paucity of women’s tennis on Tennis Channel is infuriating. Thanks to Eurosport and live streaming I was able to watch some of the women’s matches that were played in Rome today, but every single match today that was shown on Tennis Channel was all about the men’s game.

Professional Women Tennis Players Have a Responsibility to the Sport

A few years ago when Fox had the rights to broadcast Indian Wells and Miami, a reporter asked Roger Federer, then the NO. 1 player in the world as to whether he had seen his next opponent. His response was no, because there was no television coverage of the matches and he was unable to even watch any tennis from his hotel room. Since that time the tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami have discontinued their agreement with Fox and now coverage of these events is carried by Tennis Channel, ESPN and CBS/ABC.

I am wondering which of the many female players who are currently earning multi-million dollar endorsement contracts and who are being touted as the most searched face, body or whose very presence at a tournament brings in thousands of fans will have the gumption to say categorically when she is asked about her next opponent say that she has not seen her play because there is no televised coverage of women’s tennis.

We have 2 of the biggest names in women’s tennis who sit on the WTA Players Council. In addition the current No.1, Caroline Wozniacki also sits on the Players’ Council. One hopes that at some point in time the issue of lack of coverage of women’s tennis comes up in discussion when the Council meets to discuss the path that women’s tennis is taking.

More and more at even the Grand Slams, the women are scheduled on courts that have no television coverage and even worse, women who have been successful at these events have found themselves scheduled on courts that are notorious for pulling upsets.
At what point will the Sharapovas, Ivanovics, the Hot Shots, the Williams Sisters, Wozniacki, Azarenka and many others have their voices be heard and decide that this can no longer continue.

The ATP has its Masters Series tv. Fans can, and have paid numerous amounts of money to be able to watch tennis online. They have a feature where they can even go and watch archived matches. The ATP has ATP World Tour, a programme that showcases the ATP, from the NO. 1 player in the world, to the player not even ranked. It makes fans of men’s tennis be able to know their players and see who is coming and who is going. What does the WTA have? A stupid YouTube programme called Hot Shots. What does it do? It show cases players, some of whom have never won a singles title on how to become a marketer’s dream. It does not aid them in becoming better professional tennis players. It is showing them how to market themselves so that sponsors can see them and offer oodles of money to sell their products.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the whole point of being a professional tennis player was to win titles and to be the best or one of the best at whatever you do, but apparently the WTA sees its mandate as somewhat differently.
Many years ago, 9 women took their future into their hands. They separated themselves from the archaic professional tennis circuit and formed a Tour for professional women. The money earned by those women is paltry compared to what today’s tennis players are earning. Has it ever crossed the minds of the women playing today that if they pool their resources together they could not form their own network.

Can you imagine if someone with the business sense of a Venus Williams, joins up with a media name like Sharapova and has someone with the background of a Lindsay Davenport and have people like Clijsters, Navratilova and many other women, both retired and active, coming together, that a network such as this would not be successful.

Tournament directors would pay a price to have their tournaments aired in conjunction with the WTA. There would be some form of profit sharing. All the money that is currently being spent by sponsors on individual players could go towards purchasing advertising space for these women.

Nike recently upped Sharapova’s contract and is reportedly paying her US$25M. Lord only knows what Serena Williams is getting. Ana Ivanovic has a lifetime contract with Adidas. Wozniacki is a marketer’s dream (or so we are being told) and there are many other women who are up and coming whose Federation will no doubt back them in this venture.

Perhaps it is time that women’s tennis starts looking outside the box in the way it promotes itself. For too long it has been riding on the coat-tails of the ATP. There was a time not so long ago when that was not the case.

Come on women. You now have more than the power. You have the money to go with that power. Make it happen.

WOMEN GET SHAFTED ONCE AGAIN

Sorry for the no blogging but there has not been a lot to talk about in terms of women’s tennis on tv, except the lack of women’s tennis being shown on my tv.
This week we have the Mutua Madrilena Premier Mandatory 5 and Masters Series combined event happening in Madrid, Spain. This event started with main draw play on Sunday, yet up to the time of writing this, unless you are an obsessed fan of women’s tennis, the only coverage that you will see is that being shown on your computer screen.

We have had Grand Slam champions, former No.1s, current No. 1s and a whole slew of up and coming stars playing this tournament on the women’s side and to date, not one match for the women has been shown on the women’s side. NOT A SINGLE MATCH.
I refuse to watch this tournament. I have Tennis Channel at home, but I refuse to watch a tournament that is supposed to be a combined tournament and the women are never shown until those in authority deem it worthwhile to show women’s tennis. If Tennis Channel or any other entity has a problem in obtaining rights to the women’s matches, then the WTA needs to ensure that a sit down is done with Tennis Channel to ensure that women’s tennis at least gets some form of tv time in these events.

We have a slew of combined events coming up during the rest of the season. Rome is next week, then when the Tour returns to North America, there will be Toronto and Montreal, then Cincinnati and then the Asian swing. Are you going to tell me that this is what fans of women’s tennis will have to put up with? We will be seeing a whole slew of mediocre male players grunting their way to a victory or a loss while the scores for the women are scrolled at the bottom of the screen, or fans have to rely on tennis fans in Europe or bloggers on the ground tweeting about what is happening?

This just cannot continue and the WTA must see that the women’s tour is getting the shaft in this situation.

As I write this, Caroline Wozniacki is heading to a third set with Julia Georges. Most fans will recall the awesome match that these 2 women played recently in Stuttgart and this one from the looks of it has been a good one so far. At the same time as this is happening Tennis Channel was airing Fit to Hit when I last checked the schedule and I ensured that I checked Tennis Channel before changing the channel to ensure that I got it right.

Women's tennis is being given short thrift these days by commentators who are quickly selling the view that women's tennis is boring. The NO. 1 player is boring. Her game is boring and that all the women have no variety and are not worth watching. We even have former champions of the game pouring cold water on women's tennis and bemoaning the lack of rivalries etc. and comparing it to the 1990s. I disagree with all of this, but that will be a post for another time.

The women's game if many took the time to watch it instead of complaining about being bored, and about grunting (which happens on both Tours by the way), should talk about why is it that it is the women who are using all forms of social media to promote the sport? Why it is that it is the female players who are bringing a level of enthusiasm to the sport and why it is that there are more female personalities that fans can now identify with who are moving the sport forward.

Many fans of tennis do not even bother to watch tennis during clay season especially on the men's side because there is usually only one winner of all the events. Going into Roland Garros with the absence of some of the potential favourites for that major, there is uncertainty as to who will walk away with the trophy on the women's side. The potential for upsets and great news stories abound in women's tennis. We cannot say the same for the men's game.

Sport is supposed to make us root for the underdog. Sport should bring a level of uncertainty which makes our hearts pound and our mouths water. As it is right now the women's game brings this. Why is this not being promoted?

TRANSITIONS

Women’s tennis is at its transition phase. There is no doubt about it.
In every era, fans of women’s tennis have to get used to the idea that players that we have grown accustomed to seeing performing at their best will eventually leave the Tour to make way for a new breed. This is how it goes in all aspects of our lives, whether we want to believe it or not.

Journalists, fans and other media practitioners have taken the WTA Tour, and its veterans to task for their inability to keep the Tour alive. I disagree with this notion. I think the WTA Tour as it stands is at its transition phase. We have seen it before in the 70s, 80s, 90s and now in the 2000s. At some point in time these professional women have to start listening to their bodies and in some cases their significant others and decide that it is time. Time to put down the racquets. Time to stop travelling the world. Time to stop practicing. Time to stop going to the gym every day. Just TIME.

For fans of the new breed of veterans. The Venus, Serenas, Kims, Justines, etc of the Tour, it is heart rending to say the least to watch such quality players take the court less and less. Someone said to me today after Clijsters’ loss that it seems as if with Justine, Serena and Venus not around, she does not seem motivated to compete. That could very well be true. There is no doubt that these 4 women pushed each other to great heights. They forced each other to raise the level of their games when they met.

I recall that between 2003-2005 when neither Williams Sister was playing on a regular level, the era was known as the Battle of the Belgians. Kim and Justine would meet as often as Venus and Serena. During this time we also hold Amelie and quite a few other veterans, including Sharapova. Today, we have these former Grand Slam champions struggling through injury and motivation to try and find their way back to the top of the game.

The media and fans would like them to continue.

In listening to the commentary during the last 2 weeks of the Winter hardcourt swing of Indian Wells and Key Biscayne, the consensus seems to be from every commentator that having Maria Sharapova in the mix is good for the game. I would go further. I think having the veterans competing against the new breed is good for the game.

This sport is not about one player. It is about a professional Tour. A Tour that encompasses women from all walks of life. There are women out there who are competing because it is their job. There are others who are doing it for the legacy that it will bring them. Hall of Fame accolades and the like. To have the media think that this sport. This wonderful sport built by generations of strong women who dedicated their whole lives so that women of today could benefit, is all about one player are delusional.

These days I like to see competition amongst the women. I too will regret the day when I can no longer see Venus striding across the lawns of Wimbledon, holding herself as regal on the grass as no one else in women’s tennis can. I long to see Serena Williams’ serve and that forehand and her hitting that backhand off the back foot and seeing that fierce look of calm determination as she stands across the net to return serve. I enjoy seeing the look of determination on Sharapova’s face as she battles her opponents and these days herself. I like the contemplative look on Clijsters’ face as she ponders her next move. I like the eagerness of Azarenka, and the happiness that she now seems to enjoy both on and off the court. I like to watch the wheels of Radwanksa’s head turning as she slices, and dices the ball to give her opponent’s fits, and finally, I like the look of the current World’s No.1, Caroline Wozniacki, a player who does not get as much credit as she deserves in this wonderful sport.

In short, I love what the WTA has to offer, both from the veterans and the new breed.

The game is in transition and I for one while dreading what lies ahead am surely looking forward to what the WTA will do next.

INDIAN WELLS – COMMENTATORS IN THE BOOTH EDITION

In yesterday’s post I intimated that based on the live streams that I was seeing, it was possible that women’s tennis would get little or no coverage of the combined events of the BNP Paribas Open, i.e. Indian Wells. I was wrong. Women’s tennis got lots of coverage yesterday. It would have been good though if during the cut aways from the main stadium matches, we got a glimpse of the other women playing during this tournament in the same way that it was done for the men, but that would have been asking too much of the broadcasters.

From the matches I saw yesterday, some of them left me shaking my head and others made me feel somewhat optimistic about women’s tennis going forward.
My issue today is with the commentators in the booth.

I hold no brief for any player on the WTA Tour. The only Tour player that I have had the pleasure of meeting personally is Venus Williams and since we share the same last name I have always considered myself as “holding brief” for Venus in the event that I believe that she is being negatively portrayed in the media. Not that that gets me anywhere but I will defend Venus with my last dying breath as I believe she is the epitome of professionalism and class on the WTA Tour.

Which brings me to yesterday’s commentary. I sat there and listened to Lindsay Davenport not only belittle the current World’s No. 1 but also point out how in her Davenport’s opinion Clijsters is the best player in the women’s game right now. She then went on to make the distinction between quality and quantity. The first thought that went through my mind was whether Ms. Davenport felt that way when she was year end NO. 1 on a number of occasions by amassing tons of tournament wins at tournaments that I have now forgotten while getting her behind handed to her in numerous Grand Slam semis and finals. Did she consider herself a worthy No.1 at that time? Did she think that she was better than those players who were winning majors but ranked beneath her? I am sure she felt that she was better than the others who were winning majors. After all, she was supporting the WTA Tour and turning up to all the events, she just could not get pass the finish line.

I hold no brief for Wozniacki and while I have defended her, I think she really needs to work on her aggression as well as be able to win a match rather than have her opponents lose. In yesterday’s match against Sloane Stephens, Wozniacki played a match that was not worthy of a No.1. She was defensive. She was out hit for most of the match and at some points she had no answers. At the end of the day she won the match, but she left me, a long time admirer of hers shaking my head because she should have, as a No.1 asserted herself and let the world know that this is what got her to No.1 (which I guess she did in a way seeing as she hit only 4 winners in the whole match).

Dinara Safina is not one of my favourite players. I know that there are a lot of people out there who are fans of hers. I admire her hard work and dedication to this sport that has not always been kind to her. In 2010 Safina suffered what can only be termed as career threatening injury. She had a broken vertebrae and I recall at one point seeing a tweet that she could hardly pack her luggage to leave Melbourne after retiring against Kirilenko in the Australian Open 2010.

For the next few months, we had no idea whether she would even show up at tournaments, let alone win them. Safina got little or no sympathy from the media and except for a few die hard fans and bloggers not much was heard in the way of news from Safina. At this year’s Australian Open she was completely humiliated by Kim Clijsters with a double bagel in the first round. News came recently that she had considered retiring after that loss but was talked out of it by her mother.
As a result it was in exceptionally poor taste last night while I sat and listened to Lindsay Davenport, of all people talk about what a fighter Sharapova is by coming back from shoulder surgery, while at the same time implying that Safina’s drop in the rankings was due more from lack of confidence in her game, rather than a serious injury to her back.

She then went on to talk about the fact that Sharapova had to be dealing with the issue of not having Michael Joyce around any more and how good a friend he was. If I am not mistaken I was of the view that after her humiliating loss in Auckland to Greta Arn, a player a lot of tennis fans had never heard of, Sharapova fired Michael Joyce. I guess there is only so much goodwill that friendship will get you.

At the end of the day we have 2 athletes who suffered through career ending injuries. One of them has been getting copious amounts of media ink which talk about her fight, her dedication and her hard work. The other one’s troubles have been grist for the mill for tennis writers who could care less what happens to her.

Safina said it best recently when she said that was looking forward to clay season and she hopes that tournament directors remember who she was. If that is not a sad reflection on the state of women’s tennis and how certain players are treated unfairly, then I don’t know what is.

For the past 2 or 3 years we have been hearing non-stop about Sharapova’s shoulder problems. It has been the reason for her dismal performances for the past 4 years (if you listen to Tracy Austin) and 3 years (if you listen to everyone else). In addition to her shoulder surgery, apparently her results were also caused by a virus. Could a bout of mono be far behind?

At the end of the day as a fan of women’s tennis, I would like to see equal treatment of every single player. In the same way that those in the booth describe Venus’ forehand as needing more work and how her footwork on clay is abysmal. I want them to sit in their booths and call a match as it is happening.
Anabel played her heart out last night. She eventually lost but she competed admirably. You would not have known this by the commentary in the booth last night.

Commentators, we as fans deserve better. We watch tennis because we love it. We have our favourites and our not so favourites.

Now I know why Carillo left the booth. Who needs this really?

WOMEN GET SHAFTED ... AGAIN

I hate this time of the tennis season. I really do. Most tennis watchers are really happy about this time of the year. They get to see the top players playing in the two big Masters tournaments for the men and the Premier events for the women. Me, I get pissed because while these two big events are going on coverage of the women is always either minimal or basically non-existent.

This morning the first thing I did was check the usual streaming sites. Lo and behold, we have 10 matches scheduled for today. All of those matches are men’s matches. Of course, the next thing I did was go to the schedule for today’s play. A former No.1 in Dinara Safina, struggling to come back from a serious back injury is the first match up on Stadium Court. The next match is Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion. He is also coming back from injury (wrist). The next match after Del Potro on Stadium Court is the current No. 1 on the women’s side, Caroline Wozniacki.

I have Tennis Channel and their coverage commences at 2:00 EST. I am hoping that their first match will be that of Dinara Safina, but for some reason, I am not holding my breath on that one.

I do not like these combined events. I really don’t. I think the women get shafted when it comes to television coverage as more emphasis seems to be placed on giving as much exposure as possible to the men’s side of the tournament, rather than the women.

I am hoping that I am wrong and that Tennis Channel and ESPN3 will provide coverage of the various women’s matches happening around Indian Wells and later this month, Miami, but if previous experience is anything to go by, I am thinking the women will get shafted once more.

THE WEIGHT [BURDEN] OF EXPECTATIONS

I have been watching a lot of tennis lately. A lot of it has been women’s tennis but now and again via twitter I might find a live stream and peek in at a men’s match. Recently, the media has been going crazy over Milos Raonic, a tall, lanky player that hails from Canada and who recently won his first ATP tournament, the SAP Open, beating defending champion Fernando Verdasco in the final. This was Raonic’s first ATP final. This week he is in his second ATP final in Memphis where he will be playing former No.1 and NO. 1 seed at this event Andy Roddick, who today made short work of Juan Martin del Potro.

In reading the media narrative and listening to commentators you would think that Milos Raonic is the second coming of Pete Sampras. Why Pete Sampras? Pete Sampras was the last player to win both the SAP Open and Memphis in the same year. This was done in 1996. Milos has a big serve just like Sampras and apparently he plays just as well as Sampras did. I beg to differ.

However, this post is not about Milos. It is rather about the Weight of Expectations thrust upon young players after they have had a particularly good tournament. The persons who are behind the careers of young professional tennis players need to start handling the media in a much more professional way to dim the weight of expectations being thrust upon players. Think I am being over-cautious. I set out below for your reading pleasure players who have become burdened by the Weight of Expectations:-

• In 2009, at the last major of the year, the US Open, the tennis world was introduced to Melanie Oudin. Standing 5 ft. 5 in. tall and wearing Adidas “Believe” shoes, Melanie Oudin would take out a veritable who’s who of Russians on her way to the quarter-finals of the US Open. She was interviewed by every media house. Her parents had to change the hotel where she was staying and her twin sister and boyfriend were both brought in from Georgia to see the Golden Girl of American tennis. It got so bad that at one point John McEnroe after Oudin was eventually ousted by Caroline Wozniacki, stated that the last American had been ousted. This was while Serena Williams, the defending champion was still in the tournament. Suffice it to say that since that US 2009 run, poor Melanie Oudin has hardly been able to get out of the first round of tournaments in which she is entered. Her belief which was an integral part of her game seemed to have disappeared. While she has played her part admirably in Fed Cup competition, her results have been disappointing and there is no longer talk of Oudin being the next great American player. These days Oudin hopes that she can make it out of the first round of tournaments, and perhaps even into the top 50. She is no longer being clothed by Adidas, rather she is now sporting the Wilson brand. One of the worst things that happened to Oudin during her short career was a sponsor offer of donating US$1M in the event that Oudin got to some later round of the US Open. Unfortunately, that only created additional pressure on Oudin and she was ousted in the second round of the 2010 US Open. After repeatedly losing in early round of tournaments, Oudin spoke about the pressure she felt in trying to live up to the media expectations after her run at the US Open.

• Ana Ivanovic – In 2007 Ana Ivanovic got to the final of the French Open where she lost to Justine Henin. It was not a pretty match and Henin basically handled Ana in that match. In 2008, Ivanovic made the final of the French Open once again where she faced Dinara Safina. She was able to win that match and became a Grand Slam champion and the No. 1 player in the world. After winning she was asked by reporters how did it feel to become the No. 1 player in the world. Ivanovic said that she did not know because her team had kept that information away from her during her semi and final appearances at the French. Going into Wimbledon, Ivanovic was the No. 1 seed. She lost in the early rounds after sustaining an injury to her finger. She has not been the same player since. In 2010 after battling through various injuries and needing wild cards to enter tournaments, Ivanovic seemed to have found some form. However, early on in this season she sustained an abdominal injury and lost in the first round of the Australian Open, an event where she indicated that she would have liked to reach the second week. In her next tournament she was bounced in the first round. After losing in tournament after tournament Ivanovic said that the pressure she felt in living up to the No. 1 ranking as well as being a Grand Slam champion had affected her mentally and physically.

• Jelena Jankovic. After getting the No.1 ranking at the end of the 2008 tennis season and playing in her one and only Grand Slam final, Jelena Jankovic went on a muscle building spree. At the start of the 2009 season she came on court all bulky. She lost to Marion Bartoli in the fourth round and she has not been the same player since. Her loss to the current World No. Wozniacki at Dubai Championships this year marked the first time that she had lost to Wozniacki. Confidence seems to be a thing of the past for Jankovic these days, but there is hope.

• Andy Murray carries the weight of expectation of a nation on his shoulders. After his loss to Roger Federer at the 2010 Australian Open, Murray broke down in tears and apologized for not being able to do it for his country. Tennis fans were always of the view that Murray did not really care too much about British tennis hopes but his breakdown on the podium showed us that he had the weight of expectations of a whole nation on his shoulders. He made the final of the Australian Open again this year and lost in the final. This time in straight sets to Novak Djokovic.

During her whole career players like Amelie Mauresmo were always overcome by the weight of expectations in playing before their home crowd. She recently spoke about the pressure she felt when playing at Roland Garros. Aravane Rezai and Marion Bartoli have also spoken about the pressure and weight of expectations that they experience when playing before a home crowd and expecting to do well. Roger Federer has described in detail how tough it was for him to play in Basel, which is his home tournament.

At the present time we are seeing lots of media attention on young players on both the men’s and women’s tours. The media have been doing their best to bring these young talents to the attention of fans the world over. This is good as tennis needs new and fresh blood to enliven the interest of fans the world over. These young players represent different countries. Players like Tomic (Australia), Harrison (USA), Dmitrov (Bulgaria), Kvitova (Czech Republic) and Wozniacki (Denmark) are all being touted as future Grand Slam champions.

Apart from Wozniacki, none of these players have made it to a Grand Slam final. Wozniacki has a losing head to head against the elite women of tennis. Tomic, Harrison, and Dmitrov have never played players of the caliber of Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic. They have never faced players whose repertoire of shots have left even top 5 players staring in disbelief. Kvitova made it to the semis of Wimbledon last year and while she played Serena tough in the first set, she went away in the second set. Wozniacki had match points against Serena in a tournament a few years ago but was unable to translate that into a victory.

The media needs to allow these players to develop at their own pace. We seem to all be forgetting the weight and/or burden of expectations that was placed on poor Richard Gasquet. He was given the name “Baby Federer”. Today, Grigor Dmitrov has been blessed (or is it cursed) with that moniker. A few years ago deBakker, a young Dutch man, was being touted as the next big thing and can we forget the next Nadal, a young lefty from Brazil by the name of Thomaz Bellucci. He was expected to do exceptionally well on clay. He is currently ranked at No. 36 but has not been able to gain much momentum in either the Masters Series tournaments or at the majors.

I think the media should allow these young players to develop their games before we all start anointing them the next Federer, Sampras, Nadal, or even Serena. Each of these players developed their skill set over a period of time. Allow these players to do the same or we will end up with a bunch of shows or articles titled “Where are they now” or “Remember When …”