By
Connor Doyle
Venus and Serena Williams, unquestionably the two biggest draws on the women's professional tennis tour, are once again in the middle of a heated controversy.
Venus pulled out of a highly anticipated and publicized semifinal match in Indian Wells, Calif. with her sister last week - a mere 10 minutes before the match. Venus excused herself saying that the pain from tendinitis in her knee was simply too great to compete.
However, she was examined by a doctor on the day of the match, and there was no mention of her inability to play. In fact, the doctor stated publicly that Venus' condition is common for many of the players on the tour and - surprise, surprise - most players routinely play with the ailment.
To make matters worse, Russian player Elena Dementieva has openly accused Richard Williams, the loose-cannon father and coach of the sisters, of predetermining their head-to-head matches, and alluded to her suspicion that Venus pulled out of the match at her father's request.
While Dementieva, or anyone else, has no tangible proof of wrongdoing, the mere mention of fixed matches between the two starlets has shaken the women's tennis arena once again.
Moreover, Dementieva's accusation does not stand alone - top tour players Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis and Brad Gilbert, Andre Agassi's coach, have all shared their suspicion that the players' father has been fixing their matches.
Even more damaging may be the plausibility of the scenario. Serena is widely considered to be the more talented of the two, and many believe she currently has the ability to beat Venus. However, Venus has owned Serena in their head-to-head matches, winning four of the five. Three of the victories have been lopsided, straight-set victories.
It's not fair to assume that the Williams' are guilty without proof, but it's still an important issue to address. If these accusations turn out to be true, it could be the end of professional women's tennis as we know it.
Five years ago, both the men's and women's tours were suffering greatly. Agassi, the most marketable men's player in the history of the tour, was enduring another one of his slumps. There were no women's players making headlines, since Monica Seles was still recovering from her stabbing incident, and the younger players on the tour - the Williams sisters and Anna Kournikova - had yet to step on the scene.
Outside of the four Grand Slam tournaments, matches weren't drawing well, and the ATP and WTA were in danger of losing their profitable television contracts with NBC Television and the USA network. Things were not going too well.
Not long after the publicity threat, the re-emergence of Agassi and the introduction of the young women's players breathed life into both tours. More importantly, the women's tour was finally stepping out of the shadow of the men's tour, since they had the most marketable group of players. Things were looking good.
Most of this effect can be directly tied to the Williams sisters.
Both are media-savvy, and pairing that with their overwhelming talent has allowed them to take the sports world by storm. When the sisters squared off, they led the highlight reel on evening SportsCenter.
So what would happen if it were discovered that the epic final of Wimbleton last year, in which Venus beat Serena in straight sets, was fixed?
Complete destruction of the sport comes to mind.
Both sisters would instantly lose all their sponsorships, be suspended from the WTA for a lengthy period of time and would likely never be able to compete professionally again.
Even worse, a cloud would form over the entire tour, which would only leave Kournikova - the 18 year-old minx with no wins on the tour - to carry the media load. The same cloud would probably cover the men's tour as well. It would be like going back five years, only this time the sport would be dying from outrage rather than from fan apathy.
This may seem like a stretch, but one only needs to look at the cynicism with which boxing has routinely endured since the emergence of Don King. The promoter of a majority of the professional fighters throughout boxing's ranks, King has been dogged by rumors that he fixes fights. His mere involvement in the sport has caused many to suspect the outcomes of any contests he promotes, and with it, boxing's reputation has been seriously damaged. Clearly, this could happen to women's tennis as well.
What bothers many - outside of the alleged fixing of matches - is the cavalier manner in which the entire family has been treating the subject.
In a post-game interview, Serena claimed she couldn't understand why she was booed when she played her first match after the walk-out.
Venus, when asked about the legitimacy of her injury, looked almost bemused by the line of questioning. Richard Williams has blamed the press for misquoting him, even though many of the alleged cases of media injustice perpetrated against him have been on videotape as well as in print. In fact, he's sworn to never speak to the media again, claiming that he "doesn't speak English".
The actions of these three has put Bart McGuire, the commissioner of the WTA, in a tricky spot.
The line in the clay has been drawn. It's Venus, Serena and Richard Williams vs. the world. McGuire has allowed tennis - the consummate ladies and gentleman's game - to be turned into the World Wrestling Federation, where winners are determined in weekly storyboard meetings rather than in person.
It would be very convenient to provide a solution to the problem that faces the WTA, but there isn't one available.
Fans can only hope that the sisters and their father are true to their word and aren't hijacking the legitimacy of their sport. Anything less, and the result would be disastrous for a sport slowly getting its sea legs back.
