Women's Tennis Needs a Major Rivalry to Come Out From Behind the Men's Shadow

The Australian Open has finished and what an exhilarating tournament it proved to be on the men’s side. Novak Djokovic proved, surely once and for all, that he is the dominant force of the mens game and worthy champion after successive epic five-setters; the final against Rafa Nadal the longest in Grand Slam history.

While it has become somewhat predictable that Djokovic and his Spanish rival – not forgetting Roger Federer and Andy Murray - will battle each other for Major honours, tennis fans cannot complain at the incredible level at which these guys operate.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the women’s game. While newspaper and television reports were full of praise for Djokovic and his challengers, very little time or space was dedicated to the women’s event in comparison. The men’s competition produced drama, shock, exhilaration, triumph; everything we associate with top-level sporting entertainment. Meanwhile, and despite the number one ranking sport being up for grabs, the women’s event went thoroughly under the radar for the plain fact that it was a rather underwhelming fortnight of tennis.

Supporters of women’s tennis will point to the frequency of new champions and the healthy competition that evidently exists in recent years. Since 2004 – and the beginning of Federer’s dominance, thus the start of the current ‘golden era’ of the men’s game – there have been 14 different female Slam winners compared to just six for the men, while there have been 11 world number ones to the men’s three.

However, it is undeniable the women’s game is currently in something of a lull, lacking that edge the men’s game has in abundance. This is not an attack on the women’s game by any means. Growing up, I was just as gripped by the women as I was by the men, but then I was lucky to be introduced to the game whilst it was dominated by a plethora of incredibly talented female players.

The success of Steffi Graff, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Martina Hingis form my earliest memories before giving way to the next generation of tennis super-powers in Serena and Venus Williams and Justine Henin. These genuinely world-class players frequently contested the latter stages of Majors and while it was often these select few that emerged victorious, their rivalries enthralled spectators.

And that is what women’s tennis is missing and what will surely help propel it back into the minds and hearts of tennis spectators; a long-running, world-class rivalry. During Federer’s dominance, Nadal came through to challenge, then ultimately eclipse, the Swiss master. As it seemed Nadal would control the next five years, Djokovic made a timely arrival to the party to help forge what is proving to be the next major rivalry not just in tennis but sport as a whole. Evert/Navratilova, Graff/Seles, Venus/Serena Williams/Henin; these rivalries didn’t just contribute to their eras but quite literally defined them, much the way rivalries in any sport do.

Until the women’s game can produce a clear rivalry between two or three of the game’s major forces pushing new boundaries, spectators will find it difficult to get as excited about it as they do the men’s game. No disrespect to the likes of Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka or Caroline Wozniacki, who are all talented and capable players, but would you rank them amongst previous frontrunners of the women’s game?

Women’s tennis will not remain in this situation - as with all sports it will go through peaks and troughs - it just so happens to be going through the lower part of its cycle at present. When, inevitably, a small elite of players break out to dominate the next era and take the sport onto the next level, the women’s game will once again thrust itself into the minds and hearts of the tennis public. It may not seem clear who it will be or when it will happen, particularly considering how young the current top crop are, but rest assured, women’s tennis will again prove to be a worthy rival to the men’s game rather then simply it’s understudy.