Translated material
Letter to Martina Navratilova
In one of your interviews during the Wimbledon tournament, if the correct translation has reached us, you said that you are not very impressed with the current women's tennis. Like, when did it happen that the top four “seeded” tennis players were eliminated before the quarterfinals. In addition, you quite rightly recalled that your confrontation with Chris Evert for many years was the adornment of world women's tennis, just as the Federer-Nadal finals are now becoming the adornment of world men's tennis. And yet, it seems to me that you should have been pleased with the women's final of Wimbledon with the participation of the Williams sisters, which you witnessed with your own eyes. Although Serena and Venus are now the sixth and seventh rackets in the world, respectively, they clearly remain the best players of the decade, which was once again brilliantly confirmed.
However, in this interview you raised one of the main problems not only of tennis, but of all big sports. On the one hand, the public craves to see great champions winning time after time, setting records, surpassing the great champions of previous generations. On the other hand, the victories of the same teams or players are boring to everyone except their personal fans; the public wants novelty, sensations, and new champions. This contradiction ultimately shapes spectator interest in sports.
Of course, the Williams sisters cannot be called “new” or “unexpected” champions (by the way, completely in your style, Martin, they not only played the Wimbledon singles final, but also won the doubles a few hours later). But it was that same great battle of great champions that, judging by the interview, you like so much. In addition, Venus won the singles title at Wimbledon for the fifth time, which brings her a little closer to your record of nine such victories. Of course, Venus has practically no chance of catching up and overtaking you, which is what she said when answering this question after the finale: “Her (that is, yours - S.N. ) career lasted three decades, and I’m not sure that I have the same amount of time. If I can play for that long, I can only dream about it.”
Moreover, the triumph of the Williams sisters is all the more valuable because in modern tennis, with its insanely intense schedule, it is extremely difficult to maintain at the highest level for many years and no less difficult to return after a decline in play or injury. The Williams sisters managed to overcome a period of loss of motivation to play after a series of victories, and serious injuries, partly filling the vacuum that seemed inevitable to arise in connection with the sudden retirement of Justine Henin from tennis. By the way, she can still try to return to tennis, just as the same Williams sisters returned, who, although they did not announce their retirement, actually left tennis for a while.
Those tennis players who currently top the rankings and who dream of becoming great champions like you, Martina, Chris Evert or Steffi Graf have the power of youth in reserve. But there are also many temptations that hinder this goal. Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova are endowed with a glamorous appearance, which automatically makes them pop stars, gossip characters, distracting them from their utmost concentration on tennis. Jelena Jankovic doesn't seem gifted enough in terms of pure playing talent to become a superstar. Svetlana Kuznetsova lacks stability and is unlikely to be destined to somehow radically change her tennis destiny. But tennis is getting younger (although in the same Wimbledon, Charlotte Dott became the youngest winner at the end of the 19th century, winning at the age of 15), talented juniors appear every year. And where there is talent, we can hope for the emergence of great champions.
In any case, the presence of young and ambitious players at the top of the women's tennis rankings, as well as the continuing careers of the legendary Williams sisters, gives us hope that women's tennis will continue to be interesting. And then, you see, Federer and Nadal will appear in women’s tennis. Don’t you know how rarely geniuses appear in any type of human activity, including sports. In the end, there are many outstanding players, but Martina Navratilova is one. So let someone try to win the Wimbledon singles nine times, and then ten. As long as your record exists, there will be people striving to surpass it.