Serena Williams' Historic Loss Highlights A Big Problem For American Women's Sports - Serena Williams has been the foremost dominant tennis player of her generation racking up thirteen Grand Slam singles titles and $36 million in career prize cash, over the other feminine athlete. Injuries have slowed Williams in recent years, however she remains ranked No. five within the world and is arguably the simplest player when healthy.
She was the betting favorite within the French Open, however she lost Tuesday within the initial spherical to Virginie Razzano, ranked No. 111 within the world. It marked {the initial|the primary} time Williams lost within the first spherical of a Grand Slam in her epic career once forty six straight wins.
With Serena gone, a lot of of the yank audience can tune out also for the remainder of the French. Americans wish to watch fellow Americans in sports and there don't seem to be several U.S. girls to observe at the highest of their sport lately in tennis.
There are solely 2 U.S. girls ranked within the prime fifty within the world in tennis. Williams is that the prime yank at No. 5, however are thirty one in September and is nearing the tip of her career. yank Christina McHale is ranked No. thirty six and a promising young player at twenty years previous, however she has one career title and has won a complete of six Grand Slam matches in her career. The U.S. audience can cheer for Russian Maria Sharapova, ranked No. a pair of within the world, however the remainder of the highest players are anonymous to most casual tennis fans that are required to spice up TV ratings.
The seven highest ratings for the U.S. Open women’s final since 1995 have all concerned either Serena or Venus Williams and are typically over double the ratings if 2 non-Americans are squaring off. Serena seemed within the US Open finals in 2011 and television ratings jumped 121% compared to the previous year when she failed to appear. Those folks failed to tune in to examine Sam Stosur play who beat Williams within the final.
The story is comparable in golf where women’s golf encompasses a player as dominant as Tiger Woods ever was in his prime. Yani Tseng has won 5 major championships since she turned professional in 2007. At twenty three years previous, she is that the youngest golfer, male or feminine, to win 5 majors. Tseng would be a promoting and ratings dynamo if she were yank, however instead is comparatively anonymous as a Taiwanese professional golfer. The LPGA is dominated by Asians between Tseng and also the eight Koreans within the prime twenty (six U.S. players are within the prime 20). The U.S. Open is that the solely women’s golf event that gets any network coverage.
Women’s tennis and golf became incredibly fashionable on a worldwide scale, however they're losing their popularity within the U.S. that is where the foremost promoting and tv greenbacks are based mostly. the image isn’t a lot of brighter for feminine athletes in different professional sports. The Women’s skilled Soccer league shut its doors in January with doubts that it'll ever commence once more. The WNBA continues to struggle to search out an audience.
Tennis and golf have continuously been the leading professional sports with yank stars just like the Williams sister, Chris Evert, Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley. The Williams sisters have masked the dearth of yankee tennis talent in recent years. because the Williams sisters close to the tip of their careers, will another star emerge to capture the coveted yank audience?
Labels: Sports
