The Williams Sisters: A Legacy To Tennis

Talking about the Williams sisters is never easy; Nay! It's always stirring up controversial waters, for quite a few tennis fans hold the view that their [somewhat] singular dominance in the women's circuit has been unhealthy and resent the same.

In my opinion however, dominance or not; healthy or unhealthy; the sisters' contribution and their imprint on the sport has been and still is a pivotal force.

From the time when I was in my pre- teens; when snippets about tennis were garnered from the "News Channel" I have seen and heard their name being mentioned over and over again.

That was a decade and ago, when I was the least interested as to who won or who lost! These days, I am totally upto my neck in tennis and I find that the Williams sisters are still going strong.

While most of their contemporaries have left the arena wide open, the siblings are showing no signs to put a brake! They are as hungry as they were then, though they are not able to inflict the same amount of command over their opponents as before.

Chinks have appeared in their armoury and at 28 and 27 they are not by any means of the youngest and fastest in the lot; yet they manage to maintain their position at the top 10: Year in and year out!

And their success not only extends to singles but to doubles as well; they have a 8-0 record winning every doubles' final they have contested. No other doubles team: Men as well as women has achieved such a prestige.

All this, however has not been offered to them on a platter. They have faced arch rivals, sustained injuries, suffered the worst upsets that a player can and each time they have bounced back with twice the repercussion.

Everytime a Williams is set aside; its a high probability that she may notch and carve her mark there; with them nothing can be predicted as they are capable of striking at any time and when no one is expecting them to.

Criticisms maybe prevalent and yes, "To each his own" but from where I have stood and watched them in the past and from where I see them in the present, I feel like respecting them all the very more each time they play.

In the ever fluctuating world of women's tennis, they have provided a sort of stabiliser and even though they don't win everything they take part in, they still try to do their very best till the last shot is played.

Two things can always be expected from a Williams: The attitude of never giving up and a very high possibility of grabbing a slam or two almost every year; age being no bar!