By Blair Henley
It’s fair to say that the folks over at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) were likely feeling a little uneasy upon entering the 2011 tournament season.
After all, Serena Williams continued to extend her layoff due to a foot injury sustained in a German bar last July. Now we’ll be lucky to see her back by springtime, and given that she was photographed in a cast as recently as mid-November, she may actually have to do some serious training in order to make her way back to No. 1. We all know how much the Williams sisters like to practice.
And despite positive projections for the latter half 2010, tennis’s resident glamour girl, Maria Sharapova, failed to regain her pre-shoulder injury form. In fact, she’s made more news lately for unveiling her Australian Open outfit than for her play. Now, at age 23, she’s engaged to Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, and unfortunately, romantic distractions off-court don’t usually translate to improved performance on-court.
On top of that, reigning world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has yet to win a major. Yes, she’s cute and charming (as evidenced by her press conference shenanigans at the Australian Open), but sports fans generally have a low tolerance for perceived rankings injustice. Let’s just hope the mounting pressure to produce a Grand Slam title doesn’t result in Wozniacki becoming Dinara Safina 2.0.
Women’s tennis may also be feeling the effects of age inflation. This year, the ages of the four Australian Open semifinalists were as follows: 20 (Wozniacki), 26 (Zvonareva), 27 (Clijsters) and almost 29 (Li Na). Ten years ago, the ages of the semifinalists were 20 (Hingis), 20 (V. Williams), 24 (Capriati) and 24 (Davenport). And twenty years ago the ages were younger still: 17 (Seles), 19 (Fernandez), 19 (Sanchez-Vicario) and Jana Novotna was the senior in the bunch at age 22.
While the fact that the women’s game is getting older may not faze hard-core tennis enthusiasts, the casual fan is likely less interested in tuning in without the lure of the teenage phenom. Imagine how different women’s gymnastics would be if the competitors were in their late twenties instead of their early teens. It just wouldn’t be the same. Perhaps some would-be tennis fans feel the same way.
Then, of course, there’s the Safina meltdown, the Elena Dementieva retirement, the recent Justine Henin retirement and the Melanie Oudin disappointment to add to the list of negatives.
So maybe the WTA Tour is experiencing some growing pains. But amidst the Cons, there are some Pros to be found.
Take the fact that women’s tennis is chock full of entertaining personalities for a change. As mentioned above, Wozniacki responded to criticism from the media about her “boring” press conferences by livening things up with a fabricated story about a kangaroo bite in Melbourne. She then proceeded to bring a blow-up kangaroo and boxing gloves to her next presser where she apologized to the media for duping them.
And then there’s Li Na’s breakout Australian Open both on the court and off. She not only proved to be an inspiration to the entire Chinese nation, but she also charmed fans all over the world with her entertaining post-match interviews regarding her husband’s snoring, her credit card use and her love of prize money. I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping we see lots more of her this year.
Francesca Schiavone, 30, is another player who has become a fan favorite since her win at last year’s French Open. It’s easy to appreciate her gritty style of play (did you see her Aussie Open win over Svetlana Kuznetsova?), but her self-deprecating sense of humor makes her that much more likable.
Speaking of personalities on tour, it turns out Kim Clijsters has become the face of women’s tennis in Serena’s absence. Now that she’s announced 2011 may be her last full year on tour, we can only hope that she’ll make the most of it. Younger players may draw in new fans, but Clijsters’ dramatic return from retirement, marriage and motherhood to win three more Grand Slams is just the drama tennis needs.
After Kuznetsova’s rough year in 2010, I don’t think many were expecting much from her at the Australian Open. She fell in the fourth round to Schiavone in the longest women’s match ever played in a Grand Slam (4:44), but the fact that she went toe to toe with one of the most fit players on tour is reason to believe that a noticeably slimmer “Kuzie” could be back in the top ten this year.
Former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic also has the potential to return to superstardom after making her way back into the Top 20 from a low of No. 65 in 2010. Her first round loss in Melbourne was disappointing, but we’ll give her a break as she was coming back from an abdominal strain. Sponsors and fans (of the male variety, in particular) would love to see her rankings climb continue.
And despite the fact that Serena Williams has kept the WTA waiting for her comeback much longer than anyone would have anticipated, the good news is that she will be returning at some point in 2011 (as far as we know). There’s no doubt that the media frenzy surrounding her grand re-entry will produce a much needed interest boost for the women’s game.
One thing’s for sure: the door of opportunity is wide open for any female player who decides to step through in 2011. As the WTA knows well, the “next big thing” might be right around the corner.