Venus and Serena: Leaders of the New School of the WTAl

Venus and Serena are heralding, with their on court excellence, in a new era of the WTA. The WTA is becoming more popular everyday among non tennis fans and tennis fans alike because what these young ladies represent, dynamite tennis ability and personalities to boot.

We're seeing unprecedented media coverage of the WTA in general and the Williams sisters in particular. I will lay out three specific reasons why I think we can expect the WTA to flourish and grow exponentially the next five years.

a. The fact that Venus and Serena are rank #1 and #2 now and for the forseeable future will battle it out for the GS and other titles. The WTA like other sports is driven by the top players and right now unquestionably the best players are Venus/Serena. They are bringing new fans to the sport because they play with style, attitude, and pizazz. Just watch a single or doubles match of theirs. Also, it helps that they are people of color.

b. There are fans of other players on tour who want their favs to beat Venus/Serena. This drives the game because people will tune in or show up because they feel that their fav will be the one to defeat a Williams. I believe it's a good thing. Who wouldn't want his/her fav to knock off Venus/Serena?

c. The casual and non tennis fans will want to be part of the experience of watching a Williams match because their matches often transcend 'a tennis game'. They become an event or a happening not to be missed, much like celebrities attending an athletic event. People are just curious about this phenomenon 'Venus and Serena'.


So while we have seen Chris/Martina, Steffi/Monica and Hingis/Davenport raise the bar in women's tennis, let's make room for Venus/Serena, leaders of the new school of the WTA. Because in the final analysis, whether we are fans or not of Venus/Serena, the WTA will be the winner.

One Love:)

Choco, your heart is big;)

Thank you for the invitation, I hope all tennis fans join this special moment in WTA and give the Williams sisters the applauses they deserve.:hearts:

:wavey:

LucasArg - thanks alot. :)

Venus and Serena are setting the standards very high on the WTA.

I really think you are on with Reason b). There's nothing like rivalry to spice up the sport. The rivalry to which I'm referring would be the Williams vs. the rest of the Tour. I know that a lot of people are complaining about being bored since the Sisters are apparently on the verge of dominating. But that just means a lot of people are also wanting someone to knock the Sisters from the top.

What Tiger Woods has done for golf, Venus and Serena can do for tennis. Can you imagine if there were Woods brothers on the PGA Tour? (Of course, then we'd probably getting articles on how the golf tour had "declined".) However, one big difference is in the inner cities. Thanks to the success of les Williams, scores of urban kids are taking up the game of tennis. Many an inner-city tennis program has seen its membership double and redouble. Venus and Serena are making women's tennis a "cool" sport. Once you get that "hip" appeal, you're golden.

This is what the sport needs. This could take it to the next level, up with the most popular sports. Even before the sisters came along, the women's tour had a lot of ethnic diversity, and their crowds were more of a cross-section than typical tennis crowds. Now, the sport is appealing to everybody.

And the best part is, it will only get better. As we combine players getting back from injury (Hingis, Davenport, Rubin, Kournikova, Pierce, Krasnoroutskaya, and others) with capable veterans (Seles, Capriati, ...), and rising youngsters who still haven't peaked (Clijsters, Henin, Dokic, Mauresmo, Hantuchova, etc.), we're in for some fantastic tennis. With the extra attention the sisters will bring the tour, it will really take off.

Brian - I concurr with your sentiments.

And you want to know what the irony is? The Williams sisters, often labelled as the most guilty transgressors of the cult of mindless baseline bashing players, will probably be responsible for it ending. Very few players can stay with them in a baseline slugfest. They'll be forced to come up with other weapons, including more variety and netplay. It will evolve into a tour of all-court players.

Then what will they comdemn the Williamses for?