Sports Notes - WTA's TEEN QUEENS

Serena Williams - Nrbelex photo Venus Williams - Sascha Wenninger photo

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

There are so many people who have an opinion of how Richard Williams should raise his children. Williams must be doing something right. He has a 16-year old and a just turned 18-year old that are highly ranked. They are playing and beating the best women's tennis players in the world so.....WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?

August, 1998

WILLIAMS SISTERS DEFY ALL ODDS

When the music group of the 60/70's, 'Bonnie & Delaney' sang "When This Battle Is Over Who Will Wear The Crown?" That seems to be the tone of competition taking shape on the WTA Tour.

When I last covered the Los Angeles portion of the tour in 1991, the most mentioned names were Navratilova, Sabatini, Graf and Seles. Only Graf and the then-teenage Seles remain on the tour. Graf is not playing as much and Seles is slowly getting up to speed after a self imposed layoff. With today's more youthful competition Seles, at the ripe old age of 24, is ancient by today's standards. In 1991 Seles was the only teenager on the tour. But.... that was THEN and this is NOW.

It's a new day and a new way. As BOB DYLAN once sang "The Times... They Are Ah Change-in." When Seles was the much talked about teenager, she was unique because she did so well on the tour. Now it's seems as though TEENAGERS RULE. Much of the attention today is given to the number one ranked player MARTINA HINGIS (17), ANNA KOURNIKOVA (17), VENUS WILLIAMS (18) and her sister SERENA WILLIAMS (16). They are affectionately known as THE BRAT PACK.

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO was a teen queen in 1989 when, at 17 years of age, she defeated STEFFI GRAF in the French Open. At the time she was the youngest player to win that Grand Slam honor. Vicario experienced teen fame then and isn't concerned about the attention the Brat Pact are receiving.

"It's a different generation, different names and people talk about them but results say everything," she said. Maybe things [will] change, who knows?".

Hingis is the current queen of the hill, having enjoyed being the top ranked player for the past two years. She is already feeling the heat from Venus Williams, who has defeated her in two of the five matches they've played this year. Of the three wins she has over Williams, she was extended to three sets on one occasion.

You can see the teen players rivalries develop. It seems the Williams sisters have their opponents coming and going, physically on the court and mentally off the court.

The mild-mannered Hingis seems mature beyond her years as she displays very little emotion. After defeating Serena Williams, 6-4, 6-1 in 63 minutes at the Acura Tournament in August she assessed her teenage rival. Factored into her assessments were thoughts of the last time the two met prior to the Acura, at the Lipton Tournament. It was there that Hingis had to go to a tie-breaking third set to defeat her competitor 6-3, 1-6, 7-6.

"She's very aggressive from the first point on," Hingis said. "She's got a great serve and first return but then she slows down from gear five to number two or three. Once you block away the first two shots from her it's much easier.

"It was very strange playing her because you never [know] what's going to come from her. She's like a TREASURE BOX. She would hit a great return and miss the next two. You can't really tell what she's going to do. Her returns and ground-strokes, the first two, are so fast you have to block them away until you can do something yourself."

The 5-7, 130-pound, Hingis admits she's not as physically gifted as the 5-10, 145-pound Williams, who first started playing the game at the age of 5 1/2 in Compton, California.

"I'm not as strong as her. I'm not a body builder like her. She could go boxing or something. She's in great shape. She's a big girl [laugh]. But ahh.... For tennis you also have to be able move and change the [direction of the balls] a couple of times, not just hit it as hard as you can. It's not only hitting the ball. Tennis is a game [like] chess. First you have to play and then you can make up the points."

Before the Acura match, Williams' father Richard said on television that his daughter was going to kick Hingis' @$$. Hingis just happened to be watching when it aired. Was she motivated?

"Yeah, definitely," she said. "Because ah... When somebody says that about a player. [He should] watch his mouth about what he's saying because it didn't happen.

"I don't think it's Serena's fault..all this... what they talk about her. She's a nice girl. I know her pretty well from the other tournaments. Actually when she's alone, I like her. She's a nice girl. It's just the people around her they...talk too much."

Though many in and out of the media complain that they don't like how Williams is training his daughters he seems to know what he's doing and has the mental edge. He has the respect of his daughters in spite of outside criticism. It's that edge that concerns many. The sisters take on his tough and what could be considered abrasive attitude. The girls have also been called ill-mannered.

One media member expressed his concern that Williams father was doing too much in the way of influencing his children as to how they think and approach the game.

Immediately my thoughts went to, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' Also... can a reporter from CANDY@$$ville know how to survive and escape the ghetto? The Williams' did and it took a tough mental attitude to do it.

To compound the intellectual assault, how does someone from Candy@$$ville know what it takes mentally to go from the ghetto to the outside world? It's implied that the Williams' should forget the lessons they've learned from their ghetto experiences, drop their guard and be something their not..... PHONY. They are what they are. They think and act the way they do because of what they were exposed to in the ghetto and the fight to get out. They've used all of that fight and have become successful....SO WHY SHOULD THEY CHANGE... IT WORKS FOR THEM.

Richard Williams must be doing something right. He has a 16-year old and a just turned 18-year old that are highly ranked. They are playing and beating the best women's tennis players in the world so.....WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?

There are so many people who have an opinion of how Richard Williams should raise his children. Those same people who know so much, would never even ride through the neighborhood where the Williams kids grew up in the Lynwood/Compton section of Los Angeles...not even in a BULLET-PROOF CAR. If you don't know where they come from... and have walked in their shoes... how can you tell them or their father how to deal... with THEIR WORLD?

But hey... Martina Hingis has to deal with and play against these young up-start Williams sisters so.... she offered her opinion on big sister Venus.

"When she's alone she always says hello, she always asks me something," Hingis said. "I'm fine with her."

You could sense the respect that Hingis has for both sisters. She's played Venus five times this year and has never lost but has been taken to a three sets by the older Williams twice.

When you're around the Williams sisters you get a sense that they know where they are on the road to their success and are programmed to block out negative thinking by others and toxic people. You also get a sense that they know they're young but it's not a factor it's a case of... if you're over 18...YOU'RE TOO OLD. There's nothing going to help you...EVENTUALLY WE'RE GOING TO WIN IT ALL.

As the teens take their GIANT STEPS toward the top, Hingis is setting an example of how a winner conducts themselves when they're on top and under fire. In her own way, she's leading by example and showing her TEEN-MATES how to be a champion with maturity, dignity and how to extend respect to your opponent.

For the Williams sisters, the combination of their fathers driving competitiveness and Hingis' winning touch of class influence, it is a WIN, WIN situation for their future success. As the media continue to criticize the way the Williams' do things they can keep their eye on the championship prize and like the 'Sisters Sledge,' sing "We Are Family," as they work to be No. 1 and the future women's tennis champions of the world.

* * *

MARTINA HINGIS is capable of many things but one thing she's not capable of is being a Los Angeles Laker. She doesn't fit the profile. In defeat she doesn't complain, whine, cry or point fingers. Unlike the Lakers, she is gracious in analyzing a match and gives credit and compliments her opponent. Despite her youth, she's sounds like a mentally mature woman, yet.... she's ONLY 17 years old.

Hingis won three Grand Slams last year Australian, Wimbledon, United States Open but has only four tournament victories in 1998. She hasn't won a tournament since the Italian Open in May and is in danger of losing her No. 1 ranking to Lindsay Davenport.

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