WHEN the US Open began, six women had a chance of ending the tournament as the world's best player. The world order was changing but, then again, it had been in a state of flux ever since Justine Henin decided to hang up her racket just before the French Open.
Ana Ivanovic was the top seed, the world No.1 and the woman with a head start on her nearest rivals, but she went out in the second round. The French Open champion has looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming tr
uck from the moment she took over at the top and her defeat surprised no-one.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, the world No.4 but without a tournament win to her name this year, had an outside chance of reaching the top of the rankings ladder but she was dumped out in the third round. Her compatriot, Elena Dementieva, had enjoyed a better year, winning two titles – one of them the Olympic gold medal – but she was walloped by Jelena Jankovic in the semi-finals and so her chance to be the world No.1 was gone.
As for Jankovic, she had only won the Rome tournament before she arrived in Flushing Meadows and had never before reached a grand slam final. It was not exactly a CV worth framing.
Dinara Safina was the form player coming into the tournament. The winner of the US Open Series, the string of tournaments that leads into the Open, she added the trophies from Los Angeles and Montreal to her Berlin title from earlier in the year. Added to her appearance in the French Open final, she appeared ready to take the next major step on her career path, but she ran straight into Serena Williams in the semi-finals and left with her hopes in tatters.
Williams, meanwhile, was through to the final and still in with a chance of regaining her No.1 position, one she last held in 2003. Back then, she was in her pomp and dominated the rankings for 57 weeks on the back of winning the "Serena Slam", the four major titles won between 2002 and 2003.
For those who try to market the women's game, the very fact that so many names were vying for the top spot was proof of the "strength in depth" (a favourite phrase in women's tennis) on the WTA tour. For everyone else, including the Williams sisters, it was just further proof that the women's game was in a parlous state and just ready and waiting to be dominated by anyone with an ounce of courage and a willingness to work.
With much fanfare and trumpeting, the WTA announced its new road map for 2009 last week, one that provided space in the schedule for a longer off-season and required the players to play fewer tournaments. This was the way forward and would ensure the future health of the tour and its players. But seeing as the top female players seldom play each other on a regular basis now, it actually did little to boost the image of the WTA's product.
Throughout their careers, the Williams sisters have played fast and loose with the schedule, dipping in and out of competition as their hectic social and extra-curricular schedules allowed. When they felt like it, they could take the tour by storm – it was just that they seldom felt like it.
Their attitude to the rigours of life on the tour has driven tournament organisers and pundits to distraction and yet, 14 years after Venus turned professional, both sisters are still here and still collecting the titles that matter whenever they feel like competing.
When the draw was made days before the Open started, there was only one match that drew attention – Venus against Serena in the quarter-final. It was a rematch of the Wimbledon final and on a drawsheet of unimaginable mediocrity, it was the only interesting pairing. Sure enough, it was the best match of the tournament by a country mile as Serena just pipped her sister to the post 7-6, 7-6.
At the relatively – in tennis terms – advanced ages of 26 (Serena) and 28 (Venus), the Williams sisters are still able to gather up grand slam titles at will. For all the primping and preening of the younger stars who love to be seen on the covers of glossy magazines yet still complain when they are viewed as sex symbols rather than elite athletes, it is the Williams sisters who still rule the roost. They can command the media's attention with a throwaway line or a barbed comment and they can frighten the life out of everyone in the locker room.
When their father, Richard, announced that his two little girls would be the champions of the world, everyone thought that he was slightly potty. When his daughters both took their turns as the world No.1, he declared that he thought it best that they both retire and get a real life. Again, he was viewed as barking mad.
Yet from training Venus and Serena on the public courts of Compton, California, to beaming broadly as they won 15 grand slam titles between them, Richard had been right all along. Both women have careers outside tennis and both are fabulously wealthy international stars. Their futures are secure while their lives are as balanced as any celebrity's can be. Venus has her interior design company and her fashion line; Serena can earn a crust as both an actress and a clothes designer. And when they feel like playing, they can both still reach the top.
There is no real strength in depth in women's tennis – there is, as there has been for the past decade, the Williams sisters. When they do, finally, choose to retire, the sport will not know what has hit it. Luckily for the WTA, the Williams sisters are still ready for the fray – and as long as they are, the four grand slam championships are theirs for the taking.
The full article contains 1025 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
