I've written here in the past about MMA, the NFL and a little on my first, true original love of football so it's really time I devoted at least one piece to the fourth sport I follow - women's tennis. Even when I was a boy I preferred women's tennis to men's. Perhaps it's because I was always a sceptic and an asshole contrarian who instinctively refused to believe that Tim Henman was anything particularly special contra to the media narrative, but I would always pay close attention when the women played.
The emergence of contemporary foxes like Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova certainly helped but the player who really caught my attention and defined what attracted me to the sport was Justine Henin. She could move and play every shot with preternatural grace and elegance, flowing across the court as she would systematically break down her opponents with her signature one hand backhand.
Henin does not seem to be held in the same kind of high regard by the most vocal online tennis fans who tend to be devotees of Serena Williams. True sports fans have long memories and they resent henin for a supposedly unsportsmanlike gesture she made at Roland Garros in 2003 during an extremely tight semi-final match the two played. Henin would go on to win the title that year, her first of seven majors.
While there's no denying Williams' unparalleled brilliance in the women's game, her power-based style never really appealed to me. It's a combination of the beauty in motion and creativity represented by Henin that won me over and is also why I generally prefer watching the women to the men, at least in tennis. The drama that almost always follows is added spice.
In the past three years, tennis has been beset by schedule and rankings chaos caused by a mysterious virus of unspecified origin. For the women, this was compounded by the rank incompetence of the WTA, the women's professional tour. After Peng Shuai was detained by the Communist government in China, the WTA made the decision to withdraw from that country. My belief then and now is that it had a lot less to do with principles than the practical concern that China had closed their borders at a time the WTA had structured their entire fall schedule around access to multiple cities.
Just two years later I feel vindicated - The WTA will be returning to China in 2023 and the borders have duly been opened. No promises were ever made regarding Peng Shuai's safety but the WTA was flailing and that's what's really important here. For what it's worth, I think Peng is safe and "free" to live her life as long as she does not resurface the sexual assault allegations that initially landed her in trouble - certain players who are quick to point fingers at America would do well to take note and appreciate the liberty they are afforded.
How will 2023 unfold for some of my favorite players? More after the jump.