John Jeremiah Sullivan on Venus and Serena

I don't know much about Jehovah's Witnesses, but that part interested me most.

I thought about the story more last night and this morning and how I would have edited it, how this piece could have reached my own standard for a New York Times Magazine cover story. I think I would have flipped things drastically. I would discussed with Sullivan moving the 2009 incident and everything Serena says about it to the top of the story and using that anecdote as a bridge into the discussion of the family dynamic. More on religion would have been nice, too. Perhaps Sullivan could have pursued Witnesses from the Williams' community.

Leading with Serena's blowup and the inner-circle reaction accomplishes a few things that the current lead doesn't: It establishes conflict; it keeps the story set in more recent events; it better distinguishes it from the Sports Illustrated piece Sullivan mentions; and it more firmly establishes the basis for the story, which is the Williams sisters relationship with their family. It would also allow for a broader stroke by looking into the Williams sisters' faith. Furthering that point would up the stakes in the story.

It also would have de-emphasized the video that online readers can't watch, which didn't initially strike me as an issue because I was reading in print. But Lugnuts made a great point, particularly since the video online isn't much of anything.

 

Maybe. What's not in much doubt is that she's the most physically gifted when it comes to playing a repetitive motion sport in a confined area that rewards reflex and muscle, and more specifically anoints four tournaments a year more important than all the others. If all Serena Williams has to do is be great for four weeks out of a year (that is, two majors per year), there isn't anybody better. I mean that just so. It's all tennis really asks her to do. If she gets upset at the French and the Australian, meh. So long as she wins 1 or 2 majors a year. The way Williams plays is not, IMO, sustainable for 6 months out of a year. Hey body takes too much of a beating. She's ended just two seasons as world No. 1. But endurance in tennis is meaningless.

Let's put it this way: Serena's been a pro for 17 years. She's won 44 WTA singles tournaments. Lindsay Davenport won 55 in 17. Roger Federer has won 76 in 14.

 

That's a good point - her physical gifts, explosive speed and strength, are well-suited to short bursts of modern tennis, in which the racket allows you to swing as hard as you can and still control the ball. It's very likely that, even if she were inclined to grind it out as much as the schedule allows you if you want, her body wouldn't hold up.

Although there's another side to how little she plays, which is that it keeps her from entirely burning out or losing interest like so many tennis players who have early success, especially women, do. The sisters' cultivation of interests other than tennis does seem to have paid off in that way.

 

That's a good point, Elliotte. I would even take it further and say that thought applies to all the Williamses. That is, the whole family tends to be seen as one unit, and not distinguished as individuals.

That, of course, doesn't help Venus and Serena either, because some of the perceived issues people may have with them are, unfortunately, not only a result of possible racial differences but also simple relatability, approachability and likeability, and they have been adversely impacted throughout their careers by the actions of their father, and even, sometimes their mom.

I mean, to this day, who has ever really forgotten that horrible sign Richard Williams held up as he "celebrated" way back when Venus won her first grand slam, at Wimbledon. "It's Venus' party, and no one's invited."

You want to separate yourself from everybody else, and make it so people don't/won't like you, no matter what color you are?

Well, that's a great way to do it.

What should have been a thoroughly happy, celebratory, even poignant moment for one of his daughters, at a time and place when she was in a position to share it, was instead, turned into a negative, even poisonous, scene, thanks to Dad's antics.

I'm not sure the sisters have ever truly recovered from that in terms of acceptance and love from others. People can't and don't root for people they don't like. It's really that simple.

 

I don't think Sullivan had the access to write the story you envisioned, Elliotte Friedman. I understand why you were disappointed, and your critique is well-reasoned, but I don't think it's fair to judge a story based on what you think the story should be. That is not to say I haven't done so in the past on many instances. I'm trying to change that, trying to figure out how the story that was written could have been stronger.

Anyway, there's a second tennis story in this edition of the New York Times Magazine: Michael Steinberger's look back at the chaotic 1977 U.S. Open. Steinberger squeezes into about 2,500 words an account of the first U.S. Opens of Renee Richards, 18-year-old John McEnroe and 14-year-old Tracy Austin, plus Jimmy Connors at his worst, Guillermo Vilas at his best, the spaghetti racket and, most infamously, a spectator getting shot. All of that happened in the final U.S. Open at Forest Hills, so the transition and Arthur Ashe's role are also crammed into the story.

It's dense and therefore lacks stylish flair, but it's worthwhile.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/magazine/the-chaotic-spectacle-of-the-1977-us-open.html?pagewanted=all

 

I think I have a different take on this story because I didn't know a ton about Serena and Venus personally going in. I'm a casual fan of tennis. I watch the majors, etc. I knew they were from Compton, etc. I really liked the anecdotes from Paris, kind of showing the human side of Serena that we never get to see in press conference settings. I didn't know she was fluent in French. I agree, I would have liked to have read more about the death of the sister, but I wonder if Sullivan parsed over that because it has been done before. I don't know. It was an enjoyable read.

 

Looks like Serena's still in rampage mode. A double-bagel in the Round of 16? Daaaaaaaaaaaamn.