WTA Tour/Non-India Fed Cup

[gbelday]

I am shocked, how parents give so much mental burden to young children

Ray Wood: The father trying to turn his seven-year-old into a champion

Jaydeep, I am not sure if there's anything that bad in that article. 12 hours a week at that age is more than what's recommended but not by that much. Specializing in a sport at that young age is not necessary. Kids have to play multiple sports until atleast they turn 12. I just hope they continue to keep it fun (he does seem to based on that article).

[sameerph]

So, Serena's 186 week streak as world #1 comes to an end. Angelique Kerber will be the new world #1 after the US open. A well deserved considering that she made it 3 of the 4 slam finals this year.

[Omkara]

Women's tennis needs some soul searching post Serena Williams. Well she is around hence women's tennis has time. You may call this statement sexist but I am bored of women's tennis. I agree there is some boredom in general as the game has turned into baseline slugfest but at least there is variety in men's tennis.

While we had a steffi there was a jana novotna. While there is Djokovic we have players like monfils and single hand backhand players like Gasquet.

Women's tennis players today look like cut from same die with little to differentiate among players. Serena off course stood out.

[Prashant]

Women's tennis has been utterly boring for a couple of decades. The problem is there never seem to be more than 2-3 players at a time with mental strength, so the early rounds are utterly useless. Some SFs & Finals are good matches (usually when someone is actually able to challenge Serena), but that's about it.

[prasen9]

I don't understand the logic of the statement above. Anecdotally, it seems to me that women's tennis has a lot more "big" upsets in the first few rounds than men's tennis. I should check the numbers.

I am not commenting on whether women's tennis is boring or interesting. But, to me, it seems the difference between the top few men's players and the rest is huge.

Both men's and women's tennis had 3 GS winners. Men's tennis had 4 finalists. Women's tennis had 4 finalists.

[Prashant]

I don't understand the logic of the statement above. Anecdotally, it seems to me that women's tennis has a lot more "big" upsets in the first few rounds than men's tennis. I should check the numbers.

I am not commenting on whether women's tennis is boring or interesting. But, to me, it seems the difference between the top few men's players and the rest is huge.

Both men's and women's tennis had 3 GS winners. Men's tennis had 4 finalists. Women's tennis had 4 finalists.

I am using perception rather than statistics - I am willing to be convinced by the latter. But, I'm making a different argument than just upsets. By & large, I find early round women's tennis of very poor quality.

Also - when you say "top men's players", I think you mean Roger/Rafa/Djokovic? If I sit down to watch a QF between one of those and, say, the #20, I expect a tight competitive match, with the top player needing to have his A game to progress. If a women's QF involves Serena and all but 2-3 players, there is maybe a 5% chance that it is a good match.

[prasen9]

No, also Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, etc. There is rarely an upset in men's tennis before the last 8 wrt the big players. Maybe one at max. So, the earlier rounds are sort of not much relevant. There seem to be more upsets in early rounds in women's tennis than men's. I get your point about the quality of the tennis --- that is a subjective matter --- and your point possibly has some truth to it. The quality of men's tennis has to be better because of better physique, etc.

[Sin Hombre]

It is more narrative than anything else. It is easier to sell matchups when you have 4 consistently elite (and known) players than 1.

prasen is right that for a very long time, the progress of the top guys till the quarters or semis was guaranteed.

[prasen9]

Both men's and women's tennis had 3 GS winners. Men's tennis had 4 finalists. Women's tennis had 4 finalists.

I realize this statement is possibly badly written. What I meant is that this year, 3 men and 3 women shared the titles. Only four men played in all the finals together. The same was the number on the women's side.

[Prashant]

I did understand your statement, and it implies that the men's & women's games have been equally prone to upsets this year, at least by this metric.

I am being thoroughly subjective - I rarely see a woman's match which seems well contested, where someone has to dig really deep to pull out a win, unless it is among 2 of the top 3-4 players in the world. On the men's side this seems much more common to me.

[PKBasu]

Three of the four semifinalists in women's singles at the AO this year will be eligible to play in the veterans tournament at Wimbledon (and at the FO too if they have one) as will one of the men's semifinalists. What a great story!

Mirjana Lucia-Baroni's is probably the most stirring story of all. A singles semifinalist at Wimbledon in 1999 (the year after she won the doubles with Hingis at the AO and reached a Slam final in MxD with MB), she dropped out of the tour after 2000 because of paternal abuse and other issues, slowly making her way back on tour after 2005. She also won two junior Slam singles titles, so she had talent and potential, especially on faster courts. She and Venus seem to have really thrived on the faster courts at Melbourne this year.

[PKBasu]

36 year old Venus is in the final!! Fabulous!!!!

[jaydeep]

And will face 35 yrs old sister, who is gunning for the record title.

[PKBasu]

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni said before her semifinal that Serena is the greatest woman tennis player of all time. I think she is right on the money!

I admire the remarkable Williams sisters, and Serena has been much the better of the two tennis-wise (except on Wimbledon's grass in the early years of their rivalry), but my heart has always been with Venus. I would dearly love to see Serena get 25 Slam singles titles, thus burying Margaret Court's record once and for all. But in this final, I hope it is Venus who wins -- to collect her first AO singles trophy. (Serena will have a few more opportunities to add to her 22 Slam singles titles, but for the illness-prone Venus this will probably be her last opportunity).

[PKBasu]

Serena was too good in the final. I think Venus didn't come in enough, and actually she wasn't very consistent with her strokes when she did come in. (That's what she should have practiced more before the final, but apparently did not…). High quality match nonetheless.