Serena into Semis!!!

Here's an email I sent to Peter Bodo of ESPN regarding my favorite tennis player, Serena Williams.

Hi Peter! It is SO refreshing to hear a tennis pundit astutely assess Serena's great progress through this year's Oz Open Women's Draw. I normally love all of the female commentators, but this year, they have all been way too critical of Serena, and they all have major egg on their faces for their inept predictions of her demise in every single round. Their desire to see her lose is palpable, their compliments begrudging, and laced with vitriol about a whole host of issues facing Serena. The bottom line is that Serena has a big butt, she always has. The fact that she's packed on some extra pounds doesn't change the fact that she is an extremely muscular and talented athlete. I mean, do they even look at her upper body? And underneath the bit of extra padding on her legs, reside some very strong muscles, indeed. Her weight is always going to fluctuate to a degree, and it ultimately doesn't matter. The underlying message conveyed is that we should want our Grand Slam Champions to be svelte, blonde, and small-assed, and that anybody not meeting these criteria is to be skewered in the press, and subjected to all sorts of scurrilous scrutiny about her body, and how ill-prepared for top-level tennis she must be as a result. There was nothing but pity and praise for Maria Sharapova (looking like a boiled lobster miraculously summoning enough energy to hop out of the pot and out of reach of Chef's hands) dragging her way across the finish line in her first round match, and while I don't think it seemed fair to submit the players to those scorching playing conditions, why is Maria lauded for her gritty resolve, and Serena blatantly criticized for her tenacity in her hard-fought wins? They make it sound like her opponents are handing her the matches, when in reality, Serena is taking the matches with the force of her willpower, and sheer determination to prevail. If Serena truly doesn't pay attention to what the media say about her, I'm glad, but ultimately, they've gotten it so wrong, it would provide her a good laugh. Perhaps all of the tennis commentators should have a dinner date with Serena to help celebrate her amazing victories thus far, where Serena can order whatever fattening item she wants from the menu, while Pam, Mary, Brad, and crew can all select a big serving of crow.