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Game, Set, and Match

© Ryan Joseph Robinson

In professional sports, everything happens in cycles. The most recent phenomenom is the rise in popularity of women's sports. I will be the first to admit that I like women's tennis. I know what you're thinking, and yes, sex appeal definitely plays a big part. Anna Kournikova is easy on the eyes, but it is the quality of women's tennis that truly peaks my interest.

Of all the major sports that are played professionally by men and women tennis is the only sport where, in my humble opinion, the women provide better quality entertainment.

There is no denying the rapid success that the WNBA has achieved. Women's professional basketball in the U.S. has been a slam dunk, so far. Er, wait a minute. I've yet to see a slam dunk in a women's game, so I better rephrase my last statement. Women's professional basketball in the U.S. has been a flashy lay-up, so far.

No disrespect to the WNBA, but I haven't been able to sit through an entire game yet. My name is Ryan, and I am addicted to dunks. Who needs caffeine when you've got Vince Carter throwing down a sick dunk with more hang time than a Picasso painting? Women's basketball is competitive and somewhat exciting, but I need the prime time flash of a 360 dunk or a mile long three-pointer to keep me interested.

Granted, big booming serves are not the norm in women's tennis, but I think that's a good thing. Here's where the double standard comes in. Everything that turns me off about women's basketball is a turn-on in women's tennis.

Men's tennis is all about power; you're lucky if you see a rally last more than three hits in a men's tennis match, which is about as much fun as watching Mike Tyson knockout some cream puff in the first round of an over-hyped boxing match.

Tennis is the exact opposite of basketball in the sense that bigger is not necessarily better. Ask any tennis fan what the most exciting part of a match is, and I would bet that most would say that long rallies rule. Watching Martina Hingis and Venus Williams duel it out on the court is just as exciting as any slam dunk known to man (except, of course, Vince Carter's bounce pass, between the legs windmill dunk at the all-star game two seasons ago; that dunk was just plain ridiculous). Baseline rallies, drop shots, and well-timed lobs are the bread and butter of women's tennis, and elite women players are among the most exciting athletes in the world.

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