Just because you're there doesn't mean you're really THERE. That's how it looked Sunday while Venus Williams was losing to Marion Bartoli in the final of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif.
Don't misunderstand. Venus was there and THERE.
Serena Williams was there. Sort of. Supporting her sister. Not really. Brad Gilbert of ESPN2 went into the stands to ask Serena why she doesn't go down on court to help Venus under the new rule allowing coaches on the court, and Serena didn't seem too interested or concerned.
She did seem to be interested in the text messaging she kept doing during her sister's loss.
"Venus knows what to do to win," Serena said.
Well, let's start at the top. The women's tour is allowing coaches to come onto the court briefly this year, and it's a huge, huge mistake. Tennis is supposed to be about one person -- or two in doubles -- standing out there, alone, playing through pain, figuring out an opponent. No coaches, no caddies, no managers, no flashing signs from the sidelines.
On top of that, as far as sport goes, women's tennis is the best place to see a strong, independent, athletic woman. It's the best message in sports for young girls.
So it does not look good when a woman is struggling on the court, and has to have a man come out for 90 seconds to calm her down and tell her what to do.
That said, it is the rule. And Bartoli called her coach, her dad out for help. That's right, a powerful independent woman in the final of a tournament called her Daddy out for help. Awful.
So we kept seeing Serena sitting there, theoretically supporting her sister, but really text messaging.
"Ugh. Venus is down a beak in the first!!! Come on Venus!!!!!" She tweeted that. Theoretically, Venus was down a break, not a beak.
So Gilbert interviews Serena.
"Venus isn't playing that great," Serena said. "She's missing, making a lot of errors. Just a couple of points here and there."
And, "Venus knows what to do to win and hopefully she'll be able to do it."
But, Gilbert asked, why isn't Serena designated as Venus' coach? Why isn't Serena down on the court, using the coaching rule the way Bartoli did, and helping out her sister?"Venus is always my coach at tournaments," Serena said. "I forget to designate myself. Dang. Next time."
Dang? Next time?
Venus lost the match. And afterward, she said, "I couldn't find my game. I was fighting myself a lot and I couldn't find the court. I'm not used to that."
You can credit Serena for having the right mindset that a player on-court can figure this out for herself. But if this is the rule, then you can't allow your opponent to have an advantage.
We can't all come off looking good in every off-the-cuff moment. But Serena did not seem overly concerned with whether Venus was losing, didn't seem too worried about anything.
Other than herself.
E-mail me at gregcouch09@aol.com
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-08-2009 @ 11:30AM
yokoach said...
"On top of that, as far as sport goes, women's tennis is the best place to see a strong, independent, athletic woman. It's the best message in sports for young girls.
So it does not look good when a woman is struggling on the court, and has to have a man come out for 90 seconds to calm her down and tell her what to do."
So let me get this straight, it's a bad message for a strong, independent, athletic young woman to have a MALE coach come out to help her out but it wouldn't be a bad message for a FEMALE to help her out (your suggestion for Serena come out vs. hang her out to dry)
Apparently, the strong INDEPENDENT, athletic young woman is somehow magically still retaining her personal warrior status when a 'mommy' figure comes out but not a 'daddy' figure....
It's nice to know that "journalists" can still have a sexist point of view...it makes us ALL feel like news is about ACCURACY......NOT!
Reply
8-08-2009 @ 1:53PM
Beerrggod said...
Your disdain for Serena is ridiculous. Are you capable of writing a balanced, newsworthy story about her?
I'm not a fan of the coaching rule either, but coaching has always existed on the female side to a certain extent. Safina spends more time getting instructions and advice than she does hitting winners most matches. Is the rule a step in the right direction? No, but it should constrain an-already-occurring practice.
To jumble your arguments against coaching with your dislike for Serena is ineffectual and useless.
Reply
8-08-2009 @ 5:20PM
rambaje said...
This guy is an idiot! I'll remember the name and to waste precious Earth time reading his junk. Venus fought Davenport @ Wimbledon in 2005 and the only time she led in the match was when she served for the match. She doesn't need anyone to come out there and hold her hands, win or lose.
Reply
8-08-2009 @ 6:18PM
samwise246 said...
At last, someone who tells it like it is, instead of sugar coating it just because the player is black. All serena cares about are the Majors, Slams, or whatever you want to call them. She admitted to tanking a first round match a couple of months ago because if she didn't play, she would have been fined $72,000. And that was her furniture budget for her home remodeling project.
venus has many more titles than serena, but because serena has more Major titles, people think she is the better player. I beg to differ. A player's overall record should be the measure of their greatness, not just how they do in the "important" tournaments.
Reply
8-10-2009 @ 8:58AM
acedoutwide said...
This story is one of the most ridiculous I have ever read. Had this been anyone else, it would not even warrant a mention from the so called journalist. Anyone who has watched Venus and Serena play, know that either one can be down and figure out a way (ON THEIR OWN)to win. The match was close and there was nothing Serena could say to Venus to ensure herself a victory. She played some bad points and unfortunately, that happens in tennis. Good win for Marion and I am a Venus fan. You can't win them all. This journalist needs a girlfriend or boyfriend or a pet....something or someone to satisfy his obvious boredom. This is a ridiculous story.
Reply
8-12-2009 @ 12:18AM
straighttoit said...
I agree with your comment! Greg Couch has shown total hatred and undue criticism for Serena for far too long. He needs to get a life. Stop with the verbal assaults. Sounds like a punk.
8-10-2009 @ 10:06AM
matchtuff said...
This article is the reason why newwpapers are folding. What a stupid article! BTW I hate the coaching rule.
Reply
8-14-2009 @ 4:17PM
robotperson said...
Shut up Greg, you're an idiot. Consider pursuing a different career, writing is obviously not your strong point.
Reply
8-14-2009 @ 5:20PM
freddy said...
somtimes i great sport fiqure has and somtimes they dont. she didnt have it for that match.. it happens to the best of sports poeple. slumping baseball players to nba players not sinking a baseket... dont read to much into it poeple.. she will be back..
Reply
8-14-2009 @ 5:23PM
freddy said...
ohhh yeh the guy writting this artical seem to have a personal thing going against the williams sisters. thats terrible when that happens.
Reply