Tuesday Tirade: Comment of the Week

I took a day or so off. Good for me. So I'm going to combine my Tuesday Tirade (I didn't have much to rant about anyway... hell, Lindsay and Amelie have returned!) with Comment of the Week, which qualifies as a mini rant of sorts, don't you think?

Here's tristann in International Hall of Shame:

Very interesting stories and very illustrative. Unfortunately the overt racism of yesteryear has been replaced by covert but insidious prejudice. One need look no further than to how Serena and Venus Williams are treated. Their accomplishments are often belittled and any missteps on their part are blown way out of proportion. I cannot begin to imagine what the reaction would have been if Serena had decided to parody her fellow players in an effort to "bring more personality to the court". I hope Serena comes back stronger than ever next year and shows once again what she is capable of.

It is clear that the tennis establishment wants to attract more fans, but only the 'right kind' of fans.

Another thing I would like to point out, is that what is not said is often as revealing as what is said. I have been hearing all spring and summer about a Serbian revolution, and how Eastern Europeans are replacing Americans, Australians and Britons at the top of the sport. However, you were one of the few who remarked on the fact of how many Spaniards and South Americans ('dirtballers') went deep into the US Open and even before then, in Montreal, of the final eight, three were Spaniards. No use bringing attention to that, lest the unwashed masses take an interest in the sport.