The sorry, sorry state of women's tennis

How bad is the state of women’s tennis?  The US Open was won by the 26^th seed, Flavia Panetta, who immediately announced her retirement.  The best tennis player in the world (this week) is a journeyman (journeywoman) outside the top 20 who is so old she can’t play anymore.

Here’s where women’s tennis stands: there is Serena, then there is no one.  Serena stand like a Brodignanian among Lilliputians.  Consider this—Serena’s closest rival is a woman, Maria Sharapova, whom she has beaten 17 times in a row.  As someone once said, it’s not a rivalry until the other player starts winning.

If Serena had won the US Open, she would have done so not facing a player inside the top 18, with #19 Madison Keys her highest seeded opponent. Yes, Serena’s loss to Roberta Vinci was the biggest upset in tennis history, but frankly if you had asked me before the semis I would have said she was more likely to lose to unseeded Vinci than #2 seed Simona Halep.  This has been Serena’s pattern; she crushes great players then drops matches to lesser players she underestimates. 

Serena kept saying she felt no pressure, so much so she must have felt pressure to keep saying she felt no pressure.  She was clearly pressing more than she had to, hitting overhead smashes an inch from the sideline when the court was wide open, fist pumping when she hit a simple passing shot against a much weaker opponent.  Then she had to play her sister, which always messes with her psyche.  When Halep lost in the semis to Panetta, did she think she had it in the bag?  Did she mentally assume she was going to win the calendar slam?  Only Serena knows.

Five of the top ten were out in the first round (including Sharapova’s withdrawal), and another 2 were out in the second.  That leaves only three of the top ten surviving to round 3.  Everyone on the women’s circuit these days is either physically or mentally fragile.  Sharapova retired before the Open started.  Sloane Stevens and Ana ivanovic lost in the first round. Wozniacki lost in round 2; Azerenka and Kvitova went out in the quarterfinals.  Bouchard can be excused for getting a concussion in the locker room, but she’s struggled since breaking out last year. 

One almost wishes Li Na, or Kim Clijsters, or Justine Henin would make a comeback.  They could be relied on to win and then show up at the next tournament.  Caroline Wozniacki was able to be ranked number one without winning a major because all of the players winning majors faded away. 

So, you ask, what is the solution?  Beats me.  I think there will be no immediate solution as long as Serena is in “Hulk smash” mode.  Eventually, in a few years, some new women’s players will come up and knock her off her pedestal.  But for now Serena’s dominance will eclipse all other players, which will either intimidate them into submission or spur them on to training regimens that will result in injuries. 

I’m curious to see the ratings for the US open Women’s Final.  I’d bet they were incredibly low, except in Italy.  For a while golf had a “Tiger problem” where courses were being altered to be “Tiger proof.”  Tiger eventually went away and is now ranked outside the top 200, while exciting new golfers like Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy rose to prominence.  In the late 1970’s/early 1980’s women’s tennis looked like it was going to be taken over by teenagers, but now teens are the exception.  

There’s nothing to do but wait it out.