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Adult Books - Nonfiction - Sports & Recreation
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Venus Envy: A Sensational Season Inside the Women’s Tour.
Wertheim, L. Jon (author).
Aug. 2001. 240p. HarperCollins, hardcover, $25 (0-06-019774-9). 796.342.
REVIEW.
First published July, 2001 (Booklist).
Wertheim, a senior Sports Illustrated writer, examines women’s professional tennis by focusing on the 2000 tour. Any professional sport is an insular, self-contained world with its own peculiar rituals and protocols, but women’s tennis is more bizarre than most. Contributing to the show-biz atmosphere are the huge amounts of money at stake; the fragile egos of the competitors, often in their teens or early 20s; the sex appeal; and the very real sexual intrigue that permeates the tour. Among the tabloid-friendly incidents Wertheim recounts are the glamorous Anna Kournikova’s bedeviling of Russian hockey stars; Wimbledon champ Venus Williams’ grilling of President Clinton during the obligatory congratulation call; and the various antics of Williams’ father, Richard, a combination of Daddy Dearest and Don King. Wertheim also explores the darker aspects of women’s tennis, including severely dysfunctional families and sexual abuse of players by coaches. Michael Mewshaw explored many of these same issues in Ladies of the Court (1993); not much has changed since then, but Wertheim provides a fascinating update. — Wes Lukowsky
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