* !Picby Pete Bodo*
Venus Williams was bumped out of the Rome combined event today by Maria Sharapova, but she must feel contented with the way her tournament went from at least one angle: While I'm neither a math whiz nor a compulsive ranking-points monitor, it looks to me like the 225 ranking points Venus earned by reaching the Rome quarterfinals will give her a total of 1175, enough for her to nose out in front of American countrywomen Vania King and Varvara Lepchenko—for now—in the hunt for that coveted fourth guaranteed berth as a singles player for the U.S. at the upcoming Olympic games.
Serena Williams (No. 6 with a bullet) and Christina McHale (No. 36) are almost certain to be the top two U.S. singles players. King clung to a slim lead at No. 3 this week, and Lepchenko, by virtue of qualifying for Madrid over a week ago and ultimately going all the way to the quarterfinals, entered this week four places ahead of Venus at No. 59 (and just nine points behind King)—a lead that now will be wiped out thanks to Venus' performance in Rome and Lepchenko's failure to qualify there.
Thus, Lepchenko becomes the odd woman out. At least for now.
Olympic qualification works like this: The top 56 singles players (as of the rankings issued on June 11, just after the end of the French Open) qualify for the singles competition. But as no nation may send more than four singles players, or six players in total (including doubles), means there's a big scramble underway in, among other places, Russia, Germany, and the U.S. Things could very interesting in terms of the Olympics come Roland Garrros.
But wait. There's more.
Venus' margin of some 25 points is certainly slim, but King (who has 1147 pts.) also will be defending 60 points in Brussels and 100 second-round points at the French Open, while Venus has nothing to defend before the June 11 deadline. Lepchenko earned 20 points in the Rome qualifying event this week, but she's actually going to lose 10 points because she qualified last year (picking up 30 points). It appears that Lepchenko will have 1059 and also will be defending nothing going into Paris.
Bottom-line: This is an incredibly tight race that probably will be decided in Paris. Should Venus qualify, which now seems more likely than not, and King also make the team, the USTA will be faced with an agonizing decision.
Venus and Serena are the defending gold medalists in doubles, but no nation will be allowed to field more than two teams, nor bring more than a total of six players to the competition. And here's the kicker: Doubles players ranked in the Top 10 also are eligible for entry—and King is presently No. 6 in doubles, while her American countrywomen Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond are co-No. 1s in the rankings.
So, if Venus makes the elite four (along with Serena, McHale and, King), the USTA will have a very tough choice to make if, as expected, it nominates Huber and Raymond for doubles. By virtue of her doubles ranking, as well as her berth in the singles draw, King will be eligible for the doubles events—and keep in mind that the gold medal in doubles is the same color as it is in singles. But Venus and Serena certainly will want to defend their gold medal, even if neither of them is ranked in doubles.
What does the USTA do for a second doubles team, pick Venus and Serena based on their accomplishment four years ago, or give King the nod based on her excellent, consistent recent record (if she's chosen, she can select her partner from the available pool of singles players—presumably, Serena)?
With this in mind, and knowing that King is a bright and articulate young lady, I decided to check in with her to see how she felt about some of these issues. As I sent my questions in an email, I'll print her answers in a verbatim Q & A format:
1. How are you feeling about the fact that your fate is not in your own hands because of the nomination process—frustrated, angry, worried? Or none of the above?
I am worried, it is the Olympics, and one of my dreams to play there. I am mainly trying to focus on myself—maintaining my same routine and playing and concentrating on my game one step at a time, because at the end of the day, that's all you can do. After that, if I qualify, I just have to hope that the decisions and choices are made based on the rules.
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2. Trying to set aside your potential problem, do you think it's right generally for the Olympic selection process to be this way (unlike the WTA direct-entry/qualifying system), or should it be handled differently?*
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I think it makes sense for it to be handled by ranking, and it is fair to limit the number of players per country to allow more countries to play. Olympics is after all, a global competition, and about coming together to support your country. But I think if a player qualifies based on those rules then they should be guaranteed to play and every Olympics I've heard there have been problems with federations or national Olympic committees not sending qualified players.
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3. If you had to compete in just one Olympic tennis event, which would you choose?*
I would love to be able to play, and I would say singles is most important. I put in my work in my singles and doubles is second priority, but it has always come easier to me naturally. But if I qualify in singles and doubles then I would love to play both. And mixed too!
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4. Could you be content with some sort of deal—where you play singles, step aside for doubs, but get nominated for mixed (if such a scenario is indeed possible)?*
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I am not sure any "deals" could or should be made. I would like to play whatever I qualify for, and if there is a scenario where the USTA has to make a choice between players--I would hope that they look upon the current qualifications and consistent work. At the end of the day I just want to be there playing, but of course I would like to play as many events as I can.
5. Can you summarize your feelings about the Olympics in general, and give me a sense of just how excited you would be to take part in the whole rodeo?
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*Olympics for me would be a dream come true. I grew up watching the Olympics and had the sense that it was the pinnacle of sports achievement. To be there with other athletes in a competition that has spanned centuries is almost hard to fathom. I would like to wait till after Roland Garros to see if I qualify before letting excitement get the better of me though.