1. Is Power the Only Way to Win in Women’s Tennis?
As SerenaWilliamswonher4th
consecutive GrandSlamtitle,completingthe “SerenaSlam”,inlast
Saturday’sWimbledonfinal,the mannerof hervictorystruckme as ratherominousforwomen’s
tennis.
Her overpoweringof SpaniardGarbine Muguruza,herself noslouchwhenitcomestobigshots, fired
yetanotherwarningshotto those whoconsiderpowernonessential intoday’sgame.Inatime
where women’stennishasbecome more predictableinitsplayand more aboutpowerthan men’s
tennis,those whouse touchandslice are fadingfastintothe backgroundof the sport,being
dominatedintournamentsbythe hard-hittingplayers.Itwas,however,notjustthe final of this
year’smostrecentGrand Slamthat wentsome wayto provingthistheory.
Duringthe quarter-finalsatSW19, the top half of the draw producedtwothrillingspectaclesof big-
hitting,withSerenaWilliamspoweringherwaybackfroma setdownto beatVictoriaAzarenkaafter
Maria Sharapovasmashedthroughthe resistance of unseededbig-serverCocoVandeweghe after
the Americancame back froma breakdownto steal the secondsetina tie-break.
The bottom half of the draw, however,wentratherunnoticedoveronCourt1, but actually made for
much more compellingviewing.The contrastof stylesinbothmatchesprovidedafantasticbattle
betweenpowerandprecision,withthe score endingatone apiece.Firstoncourt,Muguruza
confirmedherrise asone of tennis’mostexcitingtalentswithastraight-setsvictory,the onlyone of
the day, overanotherrisingstarin TimeaBacsinszky,butthe mannerinwhichshe overpoweredher
opponentcontinuedthis remarkabletrendintoday’sgame.The correlationbetweenpowerand
successinwomen’stennisis becomingevermore positiveanda whole brandof tennisseemstobe
fading.
Bacsinszky’srunof format the recentFrenchOpen,where she reachedthe semi-finalsbefore she
was brutallydispatchedbySerenaWilliams,andherrunto the quartersthisweek seemtoprove me
wrong,but whenitcomesto the sharp endof tournaments,playerswithoutthe necessaryarm
strengthare beingpushedroughlytoone side asthe powerplayersbattle itoutinthe finals.
ThistheoryalsoexplainsSerenaWilliams’extendedrunatthe topof the rankings.Itis simplythat
no otherplayeronthe tour can match the speedandstrengthof hershotsand therefore,whenshe
ison form,no one can stop her.Of course,there are otherfactorsthat have contributedtoSerena’s
dominationof the women’sgame,notablyherincredible movementaroundthe court,butthisis not
somethingunmatchedbyotherplayers.At33, Serenamaynot have manyyearsleftat the top and
herspeedwill decline witheachpassingyear,butif she can keepthatphenomenal powerinher
arms, she will be verydifficulttoovercome forafew yearsto come.
The onlyplayerat Wimbledonthisweekwho successfullyovercameherdistinctlackof brawnis
AgnieszkaRadwanska.Much-malignedrecentlyafterapoor run of results,she rediscoveredher
touch andher quarter-finalwin overAmerica’snexthard-hittingprospectMadisonKeys,atonly20
alreadylookinglikethe replacementforWilliams, showedthatshe will continue tofightagainstthe
continuingdecline of herstyle of play. Radwanskaplayedsome scintillatingdropshotsandlobsto
beatKeysand,despite anaverage firstserve speedof well below 100 mph,resistedthe American’s
fierce groundstrokes.
UnfortunatelyforRadwanskaandforthe future of the subtle aspectsof women’stennis,the semi-
finalsfollowedthe same course asmost recentGrand Slams. Despite puttingupagreat fight,
Radwanskacouldn’tdeal withMuguruza’sgroundstrokesandwentdownbattlingin3sets.Later on

2. inthe day,Serenacontinuedher11 yeardominance of Maria Sharapovaina bruisingbut
comfortable straight-setsvictory.
So whatdidwe learnfrom the latest episode inthe All EnglandClub’shistoricseriesof
tournaments?Primarily,thatwomen’stennishasmovedonfromthe dayswhere the mostcomplete
playerwasthe victor.With the exceptionof the phenomenonthatisSerenaWilliams,the victorsare
more oftenthannot those whocan outhittheiropponents.Those whostillclingtothe remnantsof
a time of spinandtouch musteitheradapt,findanew way to overcome theiropponents,orrisk
beingwipedoutof the topendof the game altogether.