I think we should have a contest to see who can guess the maximum number of tennis balls that would be required to shut Tracy Austin's mouth! If I have to hear about Yetunde's, which happened in Compton, where the Williams sisters grew up, and what a close family they are, during a tennis match again, I may have to pull out my hair!!! For the record, I think eight tennis balls would be required.

I hate Tracy Austin's commentary for very different reasons.
I find her commentary - particularly when commenting on the Williams sisters, offensive and bordering on racist. She obviously has it in for them - and I can almost sense her wishing for their downfall, even when playing against players from other countries.

I am a big supporter of the Williams sisters - I find them to be incredibly gracious both in winning and defeat... and their talents are second to none, particularly when taking into account the personal difficulties they've been through.
Perhaps Ms. Austin might be able to show us that appreciation too.



Peter Gevisser

I am not sure how you could ever say that Tracy Austin is anything but a Williams sisters sycophant. She is a complete apologist for the two of them. Now Mary Carillo? She has it out for them.

While their talents are second to none, they are anything but gracious. Only when a camera lights up do they seem to put on their "endorsement" personas. I cannot recall either of them crediting their opponents, and their spokesman/father certainly doesn't.

As for them getting credit for "personal difficulties", I appreciate what they have been through. But, those stories are not uncommon on tour. For example, today you have the Serb players who grew up in difficult conditions, and you used to have kids from the Soviet bloc fleeing horrible conditions to become champions.

Why does Tracey Austin find it necessary to apologize for Venus or Serena? That in itself is racist. If not for the camera's when would you have any other opportunity to witness Venus or Serena not being gracious. Clearly people turn it on for the cameras. Maria Sharapova on the other hand seems to forget that the camera is still rolling when she begins to walk away from the interviewer. The disingenuous smile is gone before she's finished uttering her last word.

I think Tracy is just not as interesting as Mary Carillo. I agree that Mary is tougher on the Williams Sisters than Tracy is, but I think she is disappointed that they weren't 100% committed to the game. That is the ax she grinds. I think she and many others feel that they could have 30 slams combined by now had they been totally focused on tennis. However, that is their choice.

Tracy may be more sympathetic to that notion given that she started playing tennis very young and retired fairly early as well. I think Venus and Serena were arrogant at first, but that is their father's doing. He had to make sure that they believed in themselves, and sometimes "tennis fathers" don't create the most gracious of players. They learned from it, got older, and tend to credit their opponents now. Yes, it sometimes takes prompting, but they do it. Oh, this is about Tracy. I wandered...

ekoyaso,

I am not sure I understand your first point: "Why does Tracey Austin find it necessary to apologize for Venus or Serena? That in itself is racist." Are you calling Tracy a racist or me? I would assert that neither one would be correct. I am not sure what your understanding of my use of the term "apologist" is, but I can assure you it is not racially loaded. I also do not know why Tracy "explains away" their mistakes on the court -- I assume it is because she really likes them and cannot put that aside when calling their matches.

2nd: "If not for the camera's when would you have any other opportunity to witness Venus or Serena not being gracious. Clearly people turn it on for the cameras." They are present in many other media besides USA Network cameras. My point was that turning there pretty smiles on (and they are) does not cover up -- for those who actually listen to them and hear what they say (and have said for years) -- what I believe are fairly ungracious athletes. I am not saying Maria, or Justine, are any more gracious, I am simply disagreeing with a point made earlier that the Williams sisters are.

Well, she does talk a lot but I much prefer her to Mary Carillo. She was also a much better tennis player than Carillo and knows what she is talking about. Actually I wish some network would bring back Chris Evert. She worked surprisingly well with McEnroe and did not talk nearly as much.

Thank heaven for the mute button. Isn't there any way to get motor mouth Austin to shut up? At least on the Direct TV mixed feeds there are other commentators on the same match! I guess we should be happy she is not also on CBS! I doubt a thought has ever entered Austin's head that she did not think it worth sharing with the world. She thinks she is hosting a talk show with video background.