Is racism over in tennis?

[Royal Oak Rog]

You can not be serious?

"Here, bluntly, is the concern: How much of Oudin's sudden popularity is that she's the Great White Hope?"

"She is already being portrayed as the All-American girl. The Williams sisters, despite all they've done, never seem to be fully looked at that way"

"I could sense the vibe the other day when Venus lost to Kim Clijsters. Here was Venus on her home court, her home turf. But the crowd was pulling for Clijsters, who's from Belgium, despite having little vested in her."


http://tennis.fanhouse.com/2009/09/08/oudin-serena-final-would-be-love-american-style/?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl5|link3|http%3A%2F%2Ftennis.fanhouse.com%2F2009%2F09%2F08%2Foudin-serena-final-would-be-love-american-style%2F

[rockymountaindem]

1. Well if you're predisposed to see things in that lens, then maybe...

Oudin is turning heads because she's 17 and beating some of the best of her older contemporaries. Being an American at the US Open helps, as does the fact that she's getting better at every tournament this year and people are probably wondering what big (or relatively big) player she'll knock out next. The fact that other than the Williams sisters, Oudin is basically the only thing in US womens' tennis right now also helps her.

If you want to know why people rooted for Clijsters, I would imagine it's because she was always well-liked, and that everybody likes a comeback story.

[tishaLA]

2. Oh FFS. People cheered for Hingis during her comeback. Hingis!

I always loved her, but not many people did because she was nearly as imperious as Serena. But people liked her because she reminded them of the past--like listening to a song by Gladys Knight, even if you never liked her.

Kim has a couple advantages: people always liked her, but her head case game made them insane; she became a mom during the break, so it allowed them to celebrate heteroreproductivity.

[LisaM]

3. Who hasn't wanted to like the Williams?

They've consistently let everyone down, with their behavior and their lies. Remeber the whole pit bull incident with Serena?

[a kennedy]

4. Coming late to this "remember the whole pit bull incident"???

what's that all about?? Did it have to do with Michael Vick or something??? Can you explain please??

[joeybee12]

5. A pitbull outside of Serena's home bit a guy...Serena claimed it wasn't her's

turned out it was...in LA you register dogs, and lo and behold it was her's.

[LisaM]

6. She had a picture of herself with it on her blog

She just flat out lied about it.

I remember years ago listening to a radio show where a woman from the town the Williams are from called in and said that the Williams sisters lied about the town not supporting their tennis ambitions. She said the town kept the courts lighted until midnight every night and everyone was rooting for them to do well. Yet the Williamses felt compelled to lie, and make up a story about how they had made it despite opposition in their town.

I understand that they feel they are outsiders in the sport. It's true, they are. And there are a lot of stories in tennis that aren't very pretty - lots of people stepping on each other to get ahead, lots of petty rivalries. The Williams sisters are not the only ones to suffer from it. My god, Monica Seles was STABBED by a racist on the court.

[a kennedy]

7. thank you, I didn't know about this.