Thursday, June 3, 2010

Miscellaneous

Chelsey Gullickson, sister of Carly, has won the 2010 NCAA women's singles championship. Gullickson, a sophomore at the University of Georgia, is the third woman from her school to win the title.

Martina Navratilova, with partner Jana Novotna, is into the second round of the French Open's Women's Legends doubles competition. Navratilova and Novotna defeated Mary Joe Fernandez and Conchita Martinez. Navratilova is also working as a commentator for Tennis Channel, and--in her spare time--receiving breast cancer radiation treatment in Paris. Also winning their first round were Iva Majoli and and Nathalie Tauziet, who defeated Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva.

Anna-Lena Groenefeld says that her goal is to be able to play at Wimbledon.

Saying that women who manage homes and take care of children "don't work" is a common insult made to thousands of women; it's a shame that it's repeated by Chris Evert in the June issue of Tennis. Evert is at least "fair" in her put-downs, though. In the same article in which she says that a lot of women in the 70s "didn't work," she goes on to take a sideways swipe at women who do work outside the home and utilize the tennis club as "something to occupy a child's time." Fathers, of course, get a pass. I have complained in the past about this magazine's ongoing (sometimes really nasty) sexist content, as well as content that has been both homophobic and ageist (the latter in an issue "dedicated" to older people). Publisher Evert needs to do some clean-up, starting with herself, and outgoing editor-in-chief James Martin also bears some of the responsibility. (For those who may be wondering: The magazine arrives in our mailbox because of a USTA membership; I would not otherwise spend my money on it.)

When the new rankings come out, Serena and Venus Williams will be ranked number 1 in doubles.

Top junior girls seed Monica Puig is out of the French Open in the quarterfinals. Puig was defeated 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 by Silvia Njiric.

6 comments:

Overhead Spin said...

I am not surprised by this coming from Chris Evert. I have to confess that listening to her doing commentary when they show classic matches on TC you get the feeling that she is the stereotypical WASP female who did not think much of anyone outside her circle.

I also got that from Tracy Austin at the recently held Hit for Haiti held in Miami. Listening to Tracy, Lindsay Davenport and Steffi Graf chatting it up it just reminded me of when I first joined my own tennis club and seeing the looks of the wives of the movers and shakers act like they owned the place while you felt a bit out of place. . Ugh.

Diane said...

Evert is a big of an enigma. On the one hand, she says things like this, and she is friends with some people I find unsavory. But she was also the woman who stood in front of the world and told them to lay off of Martina--that her sexual orientation had nothing to do with anything. And--once she was old enough to rebel (a little) against her father, she also supported the BJK-Rosie group in the early days of the WTA.

I wish she were still a French Open commentator; it isn't the same without her.

Colette Lewis said...

Diane:
It's Chelsey Gullickson. The AP spelled her name wrong in its story. I think most of the rest of us in the press box in Athens got it right!

Diane said...

Oops. I had "Chelsey" when I wrote about her before, and I had "Chelsey" here, too and changed it because it kept popping up the other way and I thought I had it wrong. Thanks, Colette.

David said...

Why would you read a sexist, homophobic, and ageist publication?

Diane said...

I think I get fooled. It arrives, is on my coffee table, I read a feature article (some of which are good), and then--the next thing I know, I read more--and there will be some comment in some essay or feature that is just inappropriate.

Your question, David, is a good one. Tennis has a lot of good information in it, but at times, it contains offensive things--things that are all the rage now, of course.

Habit. temptation.