Wimbledon officials finally got around to adding a women's wheelchair event this year. There was no singles competition, but there was a doubles contest, and--no surprise--the title was won by the completely dominant pair of Esther Vergeer and Korie Homan. Vergeer and Homan won their semifinal match 6-0, 6-0. In the final, they defeated Lucy Shuker and Daniela Di Toro 6-1, 6-3.
Vergeer has never lost a doubles match at a major, and is currently on a 360-match winning streak in singles.
2 comments:
Men have been competing in the wheelchair event for a number of years at Wimbledon. As someone who is disabled I was glad to see the women there now. I was also pleased to see the BBC give plenty of coverage to the wheelchair events. There is away to go but your somewhat mean throw away remark does nothing to further the cause of the disabled. Quick question does US TV stations give prime time coverage of the wheelchair matches from start to finish?
Bob, that post was a victim of late-night writing that was not proofed. What I meant to say was that Wimbledon included doubles for women, finally (I was tired and thinking too many thoughts at the time). That women have been excluded in the past is just one more way in which Wimbledon has lagged behind in the area of equality.
And U.S. TV does not give prime coverage from start to finish to the majority of non-wheelchair matches. Viewers who rely on U.S. television for information about Wimbledon would not know that wheelchair competition is going on, for it is never even mentioned. (On some days, viewers wouldn't know that anyone not named Williams or Roddick is even playing.)
Post a Comment