Venus Williams pays enough attention to her tennis to know she no longer is ranked in the top 10. Precisely where she stands, however, is a bit of a mystery to her.
"What am I ranked?" Williams asked on Monday after beating Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-4, 6-3 in the first round at the French Open.
Told her ranking, she asked: "What am I seeded?"
When that reply came, she answered: "Oh, man. Exactly. ... Well, I'll work on that. It's bound to go up."
She used to be No. 1, but injuries have limited her play in recent years, and Monday's match was only her 10th of 2006 (she's 7-3).
Now she's ranked 13th, seeded 11th.
"In my head, I'm always feeling at the top, for sure," Williams said, adding that it's not fun "seeing your ranking going down, down, down."
She won Wimbledon last year for her fifth career Grand Slam title, but she missed time this season with an elbow injury. She says she's finally feeling healthy and hoping to be back at the top of the game soon.
That said, she insists life's pleasures have not been ruined by a few career glitches.
"My thoughts are, `Life is good, I'm happy,'" Williams said. "I've been so blessed with a great career. I relatively have nothing to look back on with regret. I feel like I've learned from my losses, will hopefully learn from my wins. The whole thing is staying healthy. That's the name of the game for me."
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and