Why are some of you bad mouthing Venus and Serena, they represent the United States?

Question

Tennis is not a beauty contest, so whether or not some of you think they're ugly is really irrelevant to the sport so, stop being ignorant. They are talked about because they represent the United States and are the only Americans that always reach way into the tournament as well as Blake and Roddick. As Americans you should always root for you're fellow American, when Vania King, Chandra Rueben, Laura Granville, Mardy Fish, Ginepri, Meghan Shaughnessy,Jill Craybas, Lindsey Davenport, Meilen Tu, and other rising tennis stars perform in the top 10, then the media will talk loud about them too. So, what if Serena braggs, if you don't toot your own horn no one else will, your remarks proves this. I want who ever is representing the U.S. to win, so go Roddick the last American man standing that has a chance.

I like many players of the game but never will I support them over my fellow Americans, I'm an avid sports fan and know the rules of any sport that I watch and I know the players unknown and known. If you had millions would you work every day? I don't think you would.

Those of you calling Venus and Serena ugly are by far the ugliest of people because of your, ignorance, your personality, and the fact that your face is probably ugly. No matter where they rank, they're the ones to beat please know this.

To newrorugby,

You are very angry and for what. They have been playing tennis since they were 2 and 3 years old and now that they have success it is o'kay for them to take time off if they feel they need to. You're entitled to have an opinion but nothing you've said has any validity. They definitely understand they're in the public eye and there not complaining, I posed the question here today. It's Wilmbedon, where more American players have won the trophy and we want to keep up the tradition and I don't care which American does it, this time it just happens to be the sisters again.

Answer 1

The bad mouthing of Venus & Serena stems in a small part of racism & elitism as others have stated above. The rest comes from the fact that as Americans we want to brag that we are "The BEST" in EVERYTHING. It is hard to do so when your two best players don't excel every time.

A combination of "injury", apathy & lack of sibling rivalry have led to this. The fact that they hate to play each other in singles events is obvious to the blindest of tennis fans. They went from lazy efforts against each other, to dropping out of events before they face each other, to trading injury time outs throughout the season (Serena plays October - February & Venus plays March - July). But can we really blame them?

Let's remember that their father (admittedly) impregnated his ex wife because he wanted to raise children to be rich & famous tennis stars. They haven't immersed themselves in tennis lately because they have been submerged since they were born! They want to do other things! They still have that competitive spirit, but it no longer dominates their lives. Why should it? They're already rich & destined to go down in history.

And on the subject of beauty, GIVE ME A BREAK! Venus & Serena are on court to play a sport. Perhaps they don't look their best during a match, but their still more fashionable than 95% of the tour. I don't see people complaining that the WNBA players aren't cute when their sweating up & down the court. And, by the way, when the William sisters are off court & dressed up, 95% of the tour can't hold a candle to their beauty & style. Just which of these dogs are you comparing their beauty to anyway... Henin, Mauresmo, Dementieva, Petrova, Hingis, Jankovic, Peer or Myskina?

Let them be and enjoy the tennis!

Answer 2

To newrorugby, you are ridiculous! You and others are just mad because the sisters have a life outside of tennis. They can’t help the fact that they can take a break and come back and get back in the top ten or so. It has nothing to do with them not respecting the sport or their talent. And why should they play in every tournament? Half the time they are put down and have to deal with racism anyways. Hence: the reason they refuse to play in the Indy tournament. I believe it was the Indy tournament. People said racist things to them. Look at how Serena is talked about on here? She is called every name in the book, thus those names are not justified. I’ve never seen them disrespect anyone on tour be that they win or lose and when they lose they lose gracefully. They are way better than me because I would’ve pull a Capriati move a long time ago, starting with Henin after not admitting she raised her hand while Serena played. These girls can’t do anything right let the white people tell it.

If Venus & Serena were white, what they do would not be an issue.

Answer 3

They are said to be ugly because they do not fit into a white aesthetic. However, this is not a new phenomenon. It is actually something that the sisters have to endure at the hands of both white people but other minorities as well. So many of the female players are called hot when they are average at best and it is a terribly unfortunate thing that somehow the Williams sisters are degraded and dehumanized because they do not prance around like beauty queens. There were several stupid replies to this question. The newrorugby guy stands out because he seems to believe that having a life outside of professional tennis means that they do not respect the sport. Why should the Williams sisters allow themselves to be marginalized and deemed capable of only one career choice or interest. It is such a ludicrous suggestion. Human being like variety and thrive on having a choice. The Williams sisters spend time outside of tennis diversifying themselves and participating in charitable causes because they see the big picture. As far as the notion that they throw tournament rankings off is not their problem or even true for that matter. I want to see exciting and hard fought matches from the beginning of any sort of tournament. I want to see why the last person standing is standing. Clearly, newrorugby believes that the sisters have launched this diabolical plan to throw off the seeds, play tougher opponents earlier in tournaments just so that they themselves can risk being ousted early. Yeah, that makes perfect sense!

Answer 4

I have not followed tennis long, but I've been a sports fan all my life. I've noticed that certain sports are generally more "elitist" and are usually learned in a country club, private prep school setting. Those sports have been generally white for a long time. They have a snobby hierarchy it seems.
For example, there was a black figure skater from France a few years back and I thought she skated very well, but she always received poor marks. Racism was the only explanation I could see. She was the only black person skating at that time. She even proved that it was possible to land a back flip on one foot, but the powers that be still insisted that it wasn't legal in competition because it wasn't possible.
So hearing you say that people don't like the Williams sisters makes me think the same thing. They are awesome players, I enjoy watching them. Is this another elitist society racism thing?? I hope not. I thought we'd matured past that point by now.

Answer 5

I say so what!!!!! If Serena wants to brag let her she deserves to. She is good for women's tennis just look at the fact we are talking about her. For so long women's tennis has been unnoticed and just plain boring at times and Venus and Serena brought life back to the women's game. Again I say so what Venus and Serena do not play as much as most other professional tennis players. Tennis does not have to be a primary focus in their lives and that does not mean they don't respect the game. It's funny how everyone has an opinion on what others should do with their lives and how they should act. I'm glad they have made it with the path they have traveled and just as happy with the path they are choosing now. Hate it or love it that have a remarkable story and are set in the history books forever. Success by their standards might be different from yours or mine so if they are happy so am I.

Answer 6

OK...here is the deal with Serena and Venus...they don't respect the sport or the God given talent they have to play it... If you get both of them in a major tournament it is a big deal, because their interest in actually being tennis players is waning. I think they could be the two best women in the game if they actually cared enough to practice. The other issue is that they really don't participate in the tennis world if it isn't a major event, which scres with the seeding. By this I mean that they never come into a major event with the proper top five ranking, so you often get a top seed vs a Williams sister too early in the tournament, when it really should be a final match. This is unfair to the top seed, and to the casual tennis fan, the fan that would only watch a final match with a little draw to it, because that match was already played three rounds earlier.

NEW:
One of you adressed me by name, so I felt compelled to answer...
Let me make something clear... I don't give a rat's you know what whether the williams ever play again, ever win again or ever lose again. I just don't care. I enjoy good Tennis... I stay up late and wake up early to see matches in the Austrailian... because I like good tennis. The Williams', as I stated earlier, could probably both be in the top five. My point, however; was that the reason a lot of tennis fans get down on the sisters, not the reason I get down on them. The only players I dislike are Nadal and Roddick (who may be the most overrated player on tour, I don't care how American he is). I love blake, federrer, and actually root avidly for the sisters when they decide to show up, because they are good.
And whoever said they could take time off and still be in the top ten, the point I made was that was exactly what they couldn't do... They take off, drop a ton in rank, get low seeds in the tournaments when they should be top seeds, and it screws up the competitiveness of the tournament. Serena-Henin should be a final...not a round of 16...but the fact is that due to their lack of desire to play these sort of situations are possible.

Furthermore...I am sick of hearing about how hard any athlete has it... Boo-hoo - the williams are getting a hard time...ask them to trade in the multi million dollars they have made, and go get a real job...bet they say no... a lot of athletes get it from fans...historically based on race, but now, with the dawn of all the instant media, they get it based on anything and everything...imagine what baseball would be like if Jackie Robinson didn't play because the fans were racist... What would golf be like if Tiger didn't play because daddy pushed him too hard... A-Rod gets more flack in NY than dangerous criminals because he can't in the post season...but you know what...these people still go to work every day...and last time I checked a-rod and tiger individually make more than the sisters combined... stop making excuses for the two of them...real fans would demand that they play more so we could all appreciate their greatness...

Lastly...to whoever it was that said that people like to dictate what other people do with their lives...when you take that first fat check as an athelete you induct yourself into the public eye...so as I said earlier..if an athlete can't take the criticism, they are more than welcome to give it al back, play pickup versions of their sports, and get a real effing job...

Answer 7

I believe that it is also very ignorant to think that the reason people don't like Venus or Serena is because they are ugly or because of their race. That is silly. I do not like Venus Williams because she seems extremely cocky ad stuck on herself. The fact that a couple of years ago, she had the nerve to say that she wanted to break into ATP tennis because women's tennis was no longer a challenge was rude to other players and very disrespectful to the sport.
However, I do pull for Serena Williams because she does not act like her sister.

I also don't think that you must root only for Americans. That is single minded and you could miss out on a seeing a lot of good players. I do pull for Roddick and Serena and I love Blake but I also pull for Ivanovic, Baghdatis, Djokovic, and Nadal. They are also great players.

Answer 8

You have a point. I have been seeing a lot of disgusting messages referring to the looks of the Williams sisters and their colour and race. This is downright disgraceful and terrible sportsmanship.
BUT! it is awful because criticizing people for their race,colour or dress size is just sub-standard behaviour and about as rude and low as you can get. It is not awful because the sisters represent the U.S. If they represented the Peoples's Republic of Banana it would be just as disgusting.
Having said this, I would also like to say that the Williams sisters do NOT represent the U.S. They represent themselves. At Wimbledon and all the other tournaments except the Olympics and Federation Cup they play for themselves!
I would like to add that many people,among them myself,have legitimate criticism to make about the Williams's sisters. I do not like their personal style of behaviour but what I really resent about them is their tendency to use racism as a crutch. I have heard them and their father use racism as an excuse for everything and they see it in the most ridiculous places.
My favourtite player of the past was Arthur Ashe. I enjoy Blake 's playing and Blake off court. My dislike of the Williams's sisters has nothing to do with racism. Rudeness and arrogance and ignorance can come in all colours and in their case it comes in black...so what?
I like tennis players for their game,their talent,their heart,their finesse,their determination on court and off court for their savoir faire,for their modesty and truthfulness. I don't care what country a player comes from. If he or she has got these qualities then I will cheer for them. It would have been a cold day in hell before I would have rooted for that spoiled brat McEnroe!!

Answer 9

You have a point. I have been seeing a lot of disgusting messages referring to the looks of the Williams sisters and their colour and race. This is downright disgraceful and terrible sportsmanship.
BUT! it is awful because criticizing people for their race,colour or dress size is just sub-standard behaviour and about as rude and low as you can get. It is not awful because the sisters represent the U.S. If they represented the Peoples's Republic of Banana it would be just as disgusting.
Having said this, I would also like to say that the Williams sisters do NOT represent the U.S. They represent themselves. At Wimbledon and all the other tournaments except the Olympics and Federation Cup they play for themselves!
I would like to add that many people,among them myself,have legitimate criticism to make about the Williams's sisters. I do not like their personal style of behaviour but what I really resent about them is their tendency to use racism as a crutch. I have heard them and their father use racism as an excuse for everything and they see it in the most ridiculous places.
My favourtite player of the past was Arthur Ashe. I enjoy Blake 's playing and Blake off court. My dislike of the Williams's sisters has nothing to do with racism. Rudeness and arrogance and ignorance can come in all colours and in their case it comes in black...so what?
I like tennis players for their game,their talent,their heart,their finesse,their determination on court and off court for their savoir faire,for their modesty and truthfulness. I don't care what country a player comes from. If he or she has got these qualities then I will cheer for them. It would have been a cold day in hell before I would have rooted for that spoiled brat McEnroe!!

Answer 10

A narrow mind is the playground for ignorance, your approval of how they look is not what got them where they are today. It took talent, and determination, perserverence. The insults they endured in France is the same type your forfathers have inflicted and taught you. blacks have endured this since day one, yet survived and thrived.
It seem you have been taught that anyone that does'nt resemble Barbie, ( pointed chin, pointed nose, large blue eyes, white complexion, very thin shape ) is ugly.
So only the aforementioned European type athlete should be
the ones to represent the U.S. which just happens to be the
same way adolph hitler felt.
Whose conception was also shattered by a black person.
And did'nt Miss Maria bad mouth their choice of attire? is'nt she somewhat of a braggert? it seems a case of double standard here.
So you see, it's not predicated on your approval, whoever the athlete may be, it's on that indivuals talent, determination that should be the factors on them representing the "good ole U. S. of A "