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Victorious Venus Williams could still improve her game
Venus Williams may already be one of the Earth's best female tennis players, but with another coach she really could be out of this world. With her third Ericsson Open title in Miami, the elder Williams sister took another step closer to the world number one spot as she rose from third to second in the WTA rankings. Probably the most remarkable aspect of Venus' continued success is that she is so good even with the obvious kinks in her game that father and coach Richard has failed to iron out. In the Miami final against Jennifer Capriati, Williams made an incredible 71 unforced errors, including 11 double faults. But Venus is able to more than make up for her imperfections through power, speed and all-around athleticism. The most obvious flaw in Venus's game, which has often been pointed out by tennis experts, is that she drops her head while serving. The coaching manuals encourage players to look at the court while their service action comes down, which helps accuracy and placement. Venus' swinging, two-handed volleys are also certainly not high-percentage but on her good days they usually come off. Also, if a more experienced and qualified coach got hold of Venus, he or she may advise the 20-year-old to sacrifice a little power for extra control and fewer errors. Still, how do you argue with a technique that won two Grand Slams and the women's singles title at the Olympics within the last year? The day Venus won the Wimbledon final last July, I was playing in a club doubles tennis match in a predominantly black neighborhood in suburban Atlanta. Midway through our match, there were screams and howls of delight from some of the other players who were watching television in the clubhouse. The news had just crossed: Venus, a role model to African-Americans in the United States, had won her first ladies singles title at the All England Championship. For all her pioneering efforts, it is a shame that Venus' father and coach Richard seems intent on creating a divide between his daughters and the rest of the WTA tour. Under pressure because of claims of "match-fixing" when Venus was a late injury withdrawal from a semifinal against Serena in California in March, Richard claimed that he and his family were the victims of racism. He told journalists that the same crowd at Indian Wells that booed him and Venus for their apparently suspicious actions, were also chanting racial insults. Of course, any kind of bigotry is inexcusable, but I agree with the later comments of Martina Hingis that the Williams sisters are treated very fairly on the WTA tour, and, if anything, are actually given preferential treatment at times. A different coach or mentor would not only help Venus on the court. He or she could also teach this amazingly gifted athlete important life-lessons about grace and humility. Australian-born Jason Dasey is an anchor for World Sport, a 30-minute sports highlights and news program shown on CNNSI and CNN International.
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