Serena and Venus do kick all sorts of ass, and I too watch them even though I rarely watch tennis.

When Venus won, she made some incredibly classy and awesome comments. She talked about how important it was to her and to Serena that one of them win Wimbledon, since this was the first year that the prize money for women was the same as it was for men. After mentioning that, though, she offered heartfelt thanks to Billie Jean King for her efforts to improve the sport of tennis for women. BJK was in the audience and seemed genuinely touched by the acknowledgment of her years of hard work towards equality.

I was just coming to say that! Venus herself did an incredible amount of advocacy work campaigning to get women the same prize money at Wimbledon, personally meeting with the bigwigs. It's so appropriate she was able to reap the benefits. And yes, what a class act to give BJK a shout-out.

the newer russian tennis player, (not anna-god i cant remember her name) gave BJK a shoutout when she won the open last year (didnt see that posted here but she did). personally, the williams sisters make me cringe big time. their outfits and their demeanor in general are just classless in my opinion. however, of course all the above in terms of positive attributes are indeed true.

the newer russian tennis player, (not anna-god i cant remember her name) gave BJK a shoutout when she won the open last year (didnt see that posted here but she did)

That would be Maria Sharapova, if memory serves me correctly.

I love the Williams sisters. The press if forever trying to construct a rivalry between them and they handle that situation with such grace and aplomb. I'm not wild about their outfits either but on the balance of things it's a big yawn. They have talent and strength and class and that's what is important. That was a GREAT video. If you have ever had a calf cramp like that you know just how profoundly painful it can be. She's a brave woman.

Should Serena's outfits really be what takes precedence here? Regardless of what gets worn on the court, they're both great players.

Also, can we use terms like "classless" without considering the meaning of what social class is, and how it determines what is "classy"?

Tack onto this the whitened history of tennis, and the implications of Wimbledon's male-run committees deciding what is or is not appropriate gear, right down to the underwear - even when they have no recognizable effect on the game.

For example: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/wimbledon07/news/story?id=2919174

I'm not trying to police anyone, I just think it's a complicated thing.

Props to them both.

It was cool that Venus won, but that display from Serena was just terrible.

Speaking of Sharapova and tennis demeanor, did anyone else see this demented article?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A24360743?s_fromedit=1

It is about courage and race and TENNIS. It was a calf cramp, not an IED, for goodness sake. Put it in perspective.

Those sisters have a lot to offer, and will, perhaps, realize what they can do from their positions of power. At the moment, however, they have some growing to do. Part of the reason that they are so stunted as mid-twenty year old women, is because of the shelter their FATHER imposed on them and their wealth.

I have had an up and down love affair with the William's sisters. I have occasionally found their excessive celebrating a bit annoying, especially at the time when they were winning everything. However I never understood the fuss about their outfits. They make the choice to play in what feels comfortable and obviously their outfits have not slowed them down at all as they are both amazing athletes.

I do dislike the way other players knock them though. After Serena lost to Henin this year Henin went on in the interview to say that she thought serena was faking her calf injury even though you can see it cramping in the video. I believe that is more "classless" than any outfits the williams sisters made.

I also agree about their father, he's the tennis version of Joe Simpson :)

Ok, gotta defend my homegirl Henin here.

Serena has accused Justine of cheating in the past just because Henin beat her. That's classless as well. Not that two wrongs make a right, but let's not forget that Serena does her share of mudslinging here, especially in Justine's direction. The stunts that Serena pulled after the supposed calf cramp could lead one to believe that she was faking. She asked the chair for a bathroom break on Hantuchova's serve just to mess her up, because when it came time for Serena to serve, when she's supposed to take said break, she suddenly didn't have to go anymore. That screams of gamesmanship, or gameswomanship if you will.

What Henin said was basically the feeling that everyone got. If she wasn't faking it, she certainly over-dramatized it, a characteristic of both Williams sisters in their victories and losses.

/tennis geek rant

Oh, and as far as crazy fathers go, Sharapova also has one of those. Has anyone else ever watched him scream at her from the sidelines and just cringed? I mean, she's not a favorite player of mine by any means, but what he does is just ridiculous. I feel very bad for her.

Excessive celebrating? Please! That's just ridiculous. Who are we to define how they should celebrate their triumphs? And as for Serena not having to go to the bathroom? Well, that happens sometimes, especially under stress. Haven't you ever been in a situation where you had to go really bad and then after a while you just didn't have to go anymore? Perhaps, it's a performer thing, but it's happened to me plenty of times. Adrenaline? I am not sure.

But I don't see the reason for all the negative comments. The Williams sisters have contributed greatly to the game of tennis. As for the outfits, I can't believe people are even commenting on that. Jeez!

Serena's certainly been in the game long enough to know that you go to the bathroom on your own serve. Jus' sayin'.

I admit that the Williams sisters also have made their fair share of digs at other players unfortunately tennis is just such a passive agressive sport. Sharapova is criticised for yelling too loud when she hits to distract others and there is a younger male player who has been called out for bouncing the ball too long before his serve.

I will admit that Venus handled her win with grace and was very respectful of her opponent and the fact that she had an injury.

Another note on her ranking (although i'm not taking away from her victory since she played amazing) The only reason she was ranked so low was because she had not been playing due to injury. Throughout the entire week everyone was commenting on how that was too low of a ranking for her and that she deserved to be much higher

Just a leg cramp? I don't know about you, but I've woken up with a charlie horse screaming. I cannot imagine having to play a sport with a cramp - and she did well!
I didn't know there was any difference in the prize money. That's ... wow.

I agree with the original post, except I know a lot about competitive sports from personal experience and have been a tennis fan for many years.

Tennis, ice skating, golf, and ballet. What do they have in common? If you are an African-American, to succeed on the very highest levels in areas like these, as you train your body, you must train your mind to deal with all of the conscious and unconscious racial b.s. you'll face along the way from competitors, their adult parents, fans/aficiondoes, and so-called “grown-up� reporters who think it is their job to create a controversy and rivalries at every turn. And if you are a girl, then you have additional layers of mess to deal with. Locker and dressing rooms can be extremely hostile places, and an ill-timed interview can be rattling.

I remember seeing Debi Thomas' face before she went out to skate at the 1988 Olympics (American sportscasters seemed more interested in having the East German win in the so-called “Battle of the Carmens�). There was no way Debi was gonna win that gold medal because you could see it on her face that she was not mentally in “win� mode.

I continue to admire the continued achievements of Venus and Serena Williams, particularly because they were treated SO badly when they first joined the circuit as teenagers. I sat in the stands in Flushing Meadows, witnessing first-hand the mean-spirited verbal taunts and aggressive, gleefully cheers and claps from mostly white men when Venus or Serena would lose a point. It is typical in tennis and other sports for the hometown crowd to show support for the players from “home,� in this case, the U.S. Most of the sportscasters, those folks still on the air now, weren’t much better. I don’t need to like their choices off the court, but I think the Williams sisters’ individual decisions to dig in, dodge the psychological landmines, and become champions should command the respect of us all.