This past week watching the Williams sisters loose so horribly in France at the 2008 Roland Garros Grand Slam was disheartening. In fact it was downright bad news as far as Im concerned. Because in my mind its over for them. The sisters are done. They may play as professional single players for the next 2 years, but after that I foresee them leaving the game. And they got knocked out early! The slam started and I felt like I hadnt even had a chance to get settled in. Usually I catch as much of the first week as I can, but ok, I might miss a game or two with no harm done. But this year if you werent on top of it, you would have missed their self-defeating performances altogether.
Most people believe that Venus and Serena are too distracted by all their varied interests, hobbies, ventures, and general lack of attention to tennis. But my strong belief is that the Williams have lost their momentum due to a dramatic shift in family life. Their sister, Yetunde, was killed on the streets of Compton. And she wasnt a distant sibling; she was older and worked as their assistant. She was ever present at games and function. Their parents Richard and Oracene also split and both began...