Justine Henin: Most Underrated Female Athlete in the World, Much Less Tennis
I was thinking of topics to write about two weeks ago during Wimbledon and meant to write this article way back then. I put it off but then had to revisit the topic while watching the ESPYs on ESPN.
I know the ESPYs don't amount to much, they aren't highly respected awards or anything like the Oscars or the Emmys. The fans also vote on the ESPYs so it's largely a popularity contest. When it was announced that Maria Sharapova won for best female tennis player it was not a shock at all (although my money would've been on one of the Williams sisters), but I thought to myself that people really need to be educated on the sport of tennis.
No offense to Maria Sharapova. I actually like Maria Sharapova, which I think most people who actually follow tennis don't like that her much because of her attitude. I'm assuming most of the people who voted for Maria Sharapova are the people who don't really follow tennis and think she is hot. I do like Maria Sharapova though, she is a very good tennis player but she is not the number one female in tennis, neither is Serena Williams, neither is Venus Williams. Justine Henin is the top female in tennis and probably the most underrated female athlete in the world.
It's easy to see that Justine Henin is the top female in tennis because unlike a lot of sports, tennis has a ranking system. The WTA Rankings take into consideration the last twelve months of play. Justine Henin is currently first in the WTA rankings; 779 points ahead of second place Maria Sharapova, 2077 points ahead of Serena Williams and 2802 points ahead of Venus Williams. The Sony Ericsson Tour takes into consideration only what a player has done this year. Justine Henin is also first in the Sony Ericsson point race; 255 points ahead of second place Jelena Jankovic, 1104 points ahead of Serena Williams, 1460 points ahead of Maria Sharapova and 1615 points ahead of Venus Williams.
I know the ESPYs don't amount to much, they aren't highly respected awards or anything like the Oscars or the Emmys. The fans also vote on the ESPYs so it's largely a popularity contest. When it was announced that Maria Sharapova won for best female tennis player it was not a shock at all (although my money would've been on one of the Williams sisters), but I thought to myself that people really need to be educated on the sport of tennis.
No offense to Maria Sharapova. I actually like Maria Sharapova, which I think most people who actually follow tennis don't like that her much because of her attitude. I'm assuming most of the people who voted for Maria Sharapova are the people who don't really follow tennis and think she is hot. I do like Maria Sharapova though, she is a very good tennis player but she is not the number one female in tennis, neither is Serena Williams, neither is Venus Williams. Justine Henin is the top female in tennis and probably the most underrated female athlete in the world.
It's easy to see that Justine Henin is the top female in tennis because unlike a lot of sports, tennis has a ranking system. The WTA Rankings take into consideration the last twelve months of play. Justine Henin is currently first in the WTA rankings; 779 points ahead of second place Maria Sharapova, 2077 points ahead of Serena Williams and 2802 points ahead of Venus Williams. The Sony Ericsson Tour takes into consideration only what a player has done this year. Justine Henin is also first in the Sony Ericsson point race; 255 points ahead of second place Jelena Jankovic, 1104 points ahead of Serena Williams, 1460 points ahead of Maria Sharapova and 1615 points ahead of Venus Williams.
- In 2006 Justine Henin reached the finals of all four Grand Slams.
- Justine Henin is currently first in the WTA Rankings, the Sony Ericcson Points Race and prize money.
- Justine Henin is the most underrated female athlete in all of sports.
Comments
hikmah
(Guest)
(Guest)
03/29/2008
im doing a assignment about ur career in tennis.hope u success always..:)
D
(Guest)
(Guest)
09/09/2007
She just won the US OPEN TITLE last night beating Serena and Venus on the way and finishing the tournament in style and class.
c
(Guest)
(Guest)
09/05/2007
Well. Justine just beat Serena 7-6 6-1 last night and Serena wasn't injured. Stop hating. She is #1. And for your knowledge, Justine doesn't play a lot of tennis but seems like nobody talks about that. This girl also struggles w/ injuries. For instance she only played 1 US Open series. So for people who say she is not better than the Williams or Sharapova is wrong cause she is.
dina
(Guest)
(Guest)
08/29/2007
That's not true that Henin is number one because the Williams sisters are absent. She was number one in 2003-2004 while the Williams sisters were still playing in full energy. She even ended Serena grand slam win streak and that year she won 3 of 4 grandslam: French, US and Australian. So to say that she is number one because the Williams are injured is ignorant. Plus, Justine has also been injured in 2004-2005 and actually missed the wta tour and still came back to win a gold medal in the olympics, 3 french opens and 15 wta titles. Plus Sharapova only beat Henin once in her lifetime in a grandslam. It's just people don't talk about it because she is not a glamour girl. Tennis rankings don't lie my friend.
For your info, she participated in 10 tournaments this year (which is very little considering that others participate in double that) and she won 6 titles already. Sharapova only won 1 in 2007.
tennis fan
(Guest)
(Guest)
07/31/2007
This is true, she is currently the #1 player in the world. While it's clear this is a opinion based article, you have to take note of the talent of the Williams sisters. They are part-time tennis players, and I have no doubt that if they played full time, Justine would not be #1. ESPN Professionals are aware of that fact, this is also part of the reason Justine gets little or no respect at all. Justine appeared at all 4 Grand Slam finals partly because both sisters were inactive and inconsistent play on the wta tour. I agree with you that Justine is a great player, but she is not better than either of the sisters or Sharapova! Justine beat Serena at Wimbledon because Serena played injured, don't cherry pick your comments!
tennis fan
(Guest)
(Guest)
07/30/2007
This is true, she is currently the #1 player in the world. While it's clear this is a opinion based article, you have to take note of the talent of the Williams sisters. They are part-time tennis players, and I have no doubt that if they played full time, Justine would not be #1. ESPN Professionals are aware of that fact, this is also part of the reason Justine gets little or no respect at all. Justine appeared at all 4 Grand Slam finals partly because both sisters were inactive and inconsistent play on the wta tour. I agree with you that Justine is a great player, but she is not better than either of the sisters or Sharapova! Justine beat Serena at Wimbledon because Serena played injured, don't cherry pick your comments!
Good information.
Wonderful article!
Wonderful article!
You don't hear about her a lot
Comments 1 - 10 (of 12)
Next >>
|
|