Venus Envy: A Sensational Season Inside the Women's Tennis Tour

by L. Jon Wertheim

Venus. Serena. Anna. Martina. Lindsay. Like other modern-day heroines -- Madonna, Hillary, Mia -- they need only one name. They are the stars of professional tennis -- the young, brash, and often reckless women who hold court, and serve. The last several years have seen such a seismic explosion in women's tennis that you might be surprised to learn there's still a men's game. Fans flock to the high-voltage matches, which come packaged with tales of infighting, family squabbles, and, of course, Anna Kournikova's micro-miniskirts. In Venus Envy, Sports Illustrated investigative reporter and tennis columnist L. Jon Wertheim draws back the curtain on the soap opera that is the women's professional tennis tour, with its primal plotlines driven by ambition, sex, and revenge. Here are the stories behind the the tragic Garbo-like star who whiles away hours in a midwestern hotel room because she's afraid to go outdoors; the teenager who tries to cope with the pressure of the big time as well as an abusive father; the brilliant number one who plays out her adolescent tantrums on the public stage; the coquette who launched a thousand Web sites; and a little-understood African-American family who proved that they could play by their own rules and still win the game -- not to mention the endorsements. The biggest story in sports in 2000 was Venus Williams. Forced to the sidelines for the early months by injuries to both her wrists and her psyche, she stormed back to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and two Olympic gold medals. Not since the glory days of Martina Navratilova -- and the historic days of Althea Gibson -- has women's tennis seen such a dominant champion with the rare combination of athleticism, intelligence, and competitive fire. By the time Venus signed the biggest endorsement deal ever for a female athlete, her opponents' sentiments could be described in just two Venus Envy.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Biography

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

L. Jon Wertheim is the executive editor of Sports Illustrated. A sports journalist with a passion for psychology and economics, he is the author of such New York Times bestsellers as Scorecasting (written with Toby Moskowitz) and You Can’t Make This Up (written with Al Michaels).

Reviews

[aarya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful view into the 2000 WTA season. It doesn’t center Venus as the title indicates, but I loved the equal focus on other players like Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Anna Kournikova, and Mary Pierce. I don’t know much about this time in tennis history (obviously, I was three years old at the time!), and it was ridiculously fun to read about the tennis world twenty years ago. Also very weird, considering the book was published in August 2001; at the time, everyone assumed that Venus would surpass her younger sister Serena. Well, that prophecy didn’t come to pass.

I read this for the No Challenges Remaining Podcast Book Club: 2020 Quarantine Edition.

NCR episode where Ben and Courtney discuss the book: https://nochallengesremaining.podbean...

NCR episode where Ben and Courtney interview the author: https://nochallengesremaining.podbean...

[Cheyenne Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me add a huge disclaimer here: I love tennis. I'm obsessed by tennis. I love playing it (oh, I love that!), I love watching it, the skill, the power, the grace, the mind games, the players. And I love the women's tour best of all. The women's tour is unpredictable, and it has a huge variety of styles of play. Wimbledon fortnight finds me sleepless (I'm in Oz, so Wimbledon = late nights). All of my celebrity girl crushes are tennis players (well, apart from Michelle Obama, but even she hits a ball around and encourages kids to get out there and do the same). So a book like Venus Envy is my equivalent of OK Magazine.

My obsession aside, this was a fantastically readable book, a combination of sports writing (match detail) and gossip column. It's definitely dated in that the WTA players who feature most are the major players in the 90s: Mary Pierce, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and the ever-present Williams sisters. If you're not a fan of Serena-the-Slugger and her slightly more interesting sister, don't be put off by the title: it's not all about the Williams, in fact they feature no more than the other players mentioned above.

However, while the faces may have changed, some aspects of the tour seem to go on forever: insane parents coaching daughters, the 'it' players, those who crave notoriety and those who prefer to fly under the radar.

I loved this book, and would recommend it as a light and easy read for anyone who loves their tennis, or who remembers the players of the 90s.

[Ellen Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Loved this and learning more about the insane impact of early 2000s WTA tour. Obvs only really good for tennis fans but it was great and sorry Monica Seles for praising Steffi Graf so highly before I knew your story xxx

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. It left me with a similar feeling to Open, they lead such intense lives, so many go through some pretty torrid childhoods to reach the top of their field. Sporting heroes are not generally my choice of subject to read, but tennis proves to be the exception. Love the sport and have enjoyed a brief glimpse inside their world.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A old favorite

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

L. Jon Wertheim's first book was a daily journalist's portrait of the 2000 women's professional tennis tour. If you want to understand how skillfully reported Wertheim's book is, go have a look at Rowan Ricardo Phillips' The Tennis Circuit, which is of more recent vintage but reported from the couch. Wertheim sets the bar a good deal higher. Phillips' book loses most of the Wertheim book's gossip, but gains little literary value-added in simply watching the game. David Foster Wallace had said, repeatedly, in his freelance reporting of tennis, that there was no substitute to sitting court-side to watch a match. That part has to be there; then reporting on the scene is the necessary background to the journalist's skills as a match-analyst. We await the book able to do both -- Wallace's analysis and Wertheim's reporting.

Wertheim's analytical skill (built on top of the reporting) is evident when it comes to reporting on the relation of the Williams sisters to the tour. From a player's perspective (again, which he is able to report), the structural racism that the Williams family exposed at Indian Wells in 2001 goes right through the sport itself to the society that nurtures it; who is to say that Wertheim's account didn't contribute to making that 2001 exposure inevitable? Again, from a player's perspective -- namely, the perspective of two of Wertheim's key sources, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis -- Richard Williams had thrown two bombs into the genteel scrub of the women's tennis tour. The fire that was the talent of those two young women, Venus and Serena, cleared some brush. In the midst of it, Martina Hingis, in her cocky self-sufficiency, would taunt the rival who was doing as much as the Williams sisters to end her run at the top, Lindsay Davenport: "Hey, will you beat these two for us?" (Wertheim reports the exchanges.) Hingis and Davenport noticed not one but two bombs. Oracene Williams interpreted their collusion as racial. Wertheim:

[Oracene] thought there was a lacerating racial edge to it. "It's just the whole black experience. The odds are always that someone is going to gang up on you . . . I take [the Hingis-Davenport pact] very seriously in that way. There's so much jealousy on the part of the other girls . . . In the Caucasian community, in order to be a good athlete you had to look like a man. Well, my girls have shown that's not true. When they act like women, look like women, and still play the game so well and make the money they're making, other players have a big problem with that. But that's the reality of being black."

I don't think Oracene is wrong, but she's interpreting herself, because tennis is a small world, and it lacks interpretation. She drags in, by implication, Anna Kournikova to clap back at Hingis and Davenport. You wonder, reading through Wertheim's book, why Kournikova figures so prominently in the narrative of the tour. I watched women's tennis in those days, but my interest in Kournikova was slight. But there can be little doubt that the phenomena that was Anna Kournikova was partly to do with Kournikova's lithe, russet figure, more narrowly still to do with her volley (as a producer of groundstrokes, she was a pusher), and on the balance mostly the kind of irrational erotic fantasies the sports world nurtured in response to the Williams' ascension in the tennis world, that Oracene Williams read as being about gender (she says the quiet part out-loud), as well as black beauty. It explains, without meaning to, why Venus and Serena have been so involved in fashion. They have always read their success as being about the transformation of the sport toward images of black beauty in the larger culture of glamour.

That relationship between women's tennis and glamour is far from automatic. But fans of the tour can't wish it away, either. Wertheim's gossipy approach to the scene in the locker room is far from the orthodoxy on the WTA website, which errs on the side of glamour, repudiating the scuttlebutt among players. However, aside from Wertheim, reporting on women's tennis in the states is difficult to find beyond the WTA website. A sequel to this book seems nowhere in the offing.

[Mario · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this 21 years after its release and obviously plenty has changed in the tennis world and women's tennis in general, so some references were dated which was to be expected. But it didn't detract much from the book which was still an enjoyable, behind the scenes look into the WTA and some of its top stars at the time. Some of the information could be construed as a bit gossipy but I was ok with that.

3.5*

[Rahul Adusumilli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing more than an entertaining gossip column.

[Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather gossipy very readable account of female tennis players on the women's tour
The writer is a big fan of Serena Williams, I am not. I am a fan of her sister, a class lady.

[David Flapan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite taking place over 20 years ago worthyme continues his excellent writing style and I learned more about the tour from his behind the scenes work.

[Alvan Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read!

[Marnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting peek into women's tennis. I only wish I had known about it earlier because reading it in 2012 is 10 years after it was published. So a lot of the references are older.

I like tennis, but am not obsessed with it and truly have no idea how the most famous tennis names rank. To learn that Anna Kournikova wasn't that good (in comparison to the others) makes you realize just how much looks and some PR/Marketing can help a career. None of the other players liked her.

It was also fascinating to learn more about some of the players' crazy parents, especially Venus & Serena Williams' dad, Richard, who is a nut job coming up with far-fetched story after farther-fetched story (though obviously groomed two incredible tennis players). Venus was given a $40 million deal with Reebok.

Another fun fact- the US Open (in NYC) brings in more money in two weeks than any other American sports franchise except for the NY Yankees. Crazy!

I probably won't remember individual facts about who won what or who didn't like this one or that one, but it was interesting to read. Not a page turner though.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a warts-and-all commentary of the WTA women’s tennis tour in 2000, at a time when the Williams sisters were beginning to make their mark and commercialisation of the tour was giving it a higher international profile. From who said what to who, or about who, the early Venus v Serena match-offs, and how many matches Anna Kournikova didn’t win to still retain her position as the tour’s biggest earner, L Jon Wertheim is an astute observer. I came to this after reading his book about the classic Wimbledon final between Nadal and Federer in 2008, ‘Strokes of Genius,’ and wasn’t disappointed. He sets the players’ comments and matches into context with the wider tennis world, including the off-court politics about funding and prize money, the antics of nightmare parents such the fathers of Mary Pierce, Venus and Serena Williams and Jelena Dokic. Anyone who loves tennis will zip through this.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been intending to read this book since it was published, about 10 years ago. Most of the characters are still well-known, so it's aged pretty well. Packed with gossip and stories from what were obviously many, many extensive interviews, as well as tons of interesting nuggets about the women's tennis tour. Also poorly written and riddled with cliches (which is rich, since the author mocks fellow sports commentators for their use of cliche). Had this little gem, which appeared near the end of the book, been closer to the beginning, I would have been forced to put it down: "[One player's mother] clutched the guardrail in front of her as if it were the last chopper out of Saigon." UGH.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does exactly what it's intended to do. In that it gives fans of pro tennis (the women's game in particular) an insider's scoop on the 2000 season on the tour. Venus Williams takes center stage among other notables who need only first-name introductions: Martina, Serena, Anna, Monica, and other names ending in "-a."

The Hoosier-bred, Ivy-educated tennis scribe Wertheim provides enough locker-room fodder and backstory to keep the fan-reader involved, all while flexing his usual witty, literate writing muscles.

It's a quick, entertaining read.

[Edmund · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't have purchased this for myself, but, as a gift, it was an entertaining enough read. Especially given the lapse (the book was published in early 2001), it was interesting to consider the changes women's tennis has undergone during this decade. Some names and faces endured, some fell by the wayside, and new ones emerged (and faltered or in some cases sparkled, retired, and then returned to the game).

[Jeanine Marie Swenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and thought-provoking inside look at the competitive and contentious world of professional women's tennis. It is interesting to analyze why we idolize the position of number one so much. Credit goes to both Venus and Serena Williams for staying focused, ignoring criticism, and side-stepping racism and sexism to accomplish their personal goals.

[Roy DeRousse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind the scenes in the WTA during the year 2000. Familiar players like the Williams sisters, Davenport, Hingis, and Kournikova get a lot of attention, but some of the lesser known players are discussed too. Discussion includes finances, racism, parent-daughter relationships, and inter-player relationships.

[Mazola1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Standard sports fare. I got the feeling it could have been a lot more interesting, but it was somewhat superficial. I guess what you would expect from a Sports Illustrated author, more used to short articles than perceptive and in depth analysis with nuances.

[Writemoves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories about women tennis in the mid to late 90s featuring the Williams sisters, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Sales etc. Interesting portrait of Anna Kournikova. Mediocre tennis results but she thrived on her looks, modeling and ads. Not portayed as a nice person.

[Dallas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jon Wertheim is the authority when it comes to modern tennis. I look forward to his weekly mailbag on cnnsi.com/tennis. He has a great deal of insight into the game--and is a good writer as well!

[Courtru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fascinating, you know, if you're into tennis.

[Andre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, could have been much better. The author spent too much time injecting his negative opinions of Richard Williams and not enough on the actual goings on and pitfalls of the WTA tour.

[Tanvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of gossip.

[Karl Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

My all time favorite read about my all time favorite sport.

[Rahber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worth it