Are Venus and Serena Williams Supernovas?

Just 3 short years ago, the Grand Slam Finals were the private domain of the Williams sisters. At one point, they played against each other in an amazing four consecutive Grand Slam Finals.

Overall, the two sisters have won a combined 12 Grand Slam titles. Serena has won 7 and Venus 5.

First Venus was the best player in the world and Serena number 2. Then Serena was the best player in the world and Venus number 2. (Here's a strange stat:

Even when Venus was obviously the best player in the world and dominating everyone including Serena, she was never the number one ranked player in the world.)

It was an absolute certainty, the sisters were poised to dominate women's tennis for years to come.

Today Venus is ranked #30 in the world, and Serena #110.

I can't recall seeing two dominant superstar athletes fall so far, so fast.

So what happened? Did the other players on tour get tired of getting overpowered by Serena and Venus, and dedicate themselves to getting stronger and in better shape?

Or did the Williams sisters simply regress and come back to the pack?

Actually, it's a combination of both things. But it's also something else.

Tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova touched on it recently.

In Tennis magazine's May issue, Chris Evert wrote an open letter to seven-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams that questioned her commitment to the game. Evert suggested Williams was wasting her amazing talent.

Here's an excerpt from that letter:

"You got sidetracked with injuries, pet projects and indifference and have won only one major in the last seven you have played," Evert wrote. "I find those results hard to fathom. You're simply too good not to be winning two Grand Slam titles a year."

Evert also wrote that Serena had become good at many things, but "I don't see how acting and designing clothes can compare with the pride of being the best tennis player in the world."

Martina Navratilova also chimed in, saying Williams had the opportunity to be the greatest player in history, who instead will be considered "a supernova who burst onto the scene and then she was gone."

Williams responded, saying, "Tennis only lasts so long. Family lasts forever, happiness lasts forever and that's what I've stuck with. Now I'm playing tennis."

Here's my take on the Williams sisters:

They've lost their passion for tennis. They've lost their hunger. They're satisfied with their accomplishments. Venus and Serena simply stopped working as hard as they once did. Because winning had come so easily for both of them so early in their careers, they thought they could stop working hard and win on talent alone.

They still believe that. I saw evidence of this when I watched both Venus and Serena play recently. I absolutely could not believe how winded they both were after only playing one set. I mean they were really out of breath! And I couldn't help but notice that roll of fat around Serena's waistline.

What made this even more striking was the fact their opponents weren't breathing hard at all.

Something else also struck me. Both Serena and Venus have gotten sloppy on the court. The number of unforced errors from both sisters is amateurish and downright painful to watch.

This isn't new. The sisters have always made a lot of unforced errors, but they always made up for it by hitting a lot of winners too.

So between the conditioning and the sloppy play, it's obvious to me at least that:

A. Serena and Venus need to hire the best trainer in the business and get into top physical shape.

B. Serena and Venus need to hire the best tennis coach in the business and get back to playing winning tennis.

Serena and Venus, I have some advice for you: Why not approach Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and ask them to train and coach you?

I don't know if they'd do it, but it's definitely worth a shot.

Think about it for a second. With their considerable god-given talent, who in the world could beat Serena and Venus, if they were in top physical condition and had superior coaching?

There isn't a woman player on the WTA tour who would be able to match their combination of speed, power and quickness.

That said, they're both still relatively young. Venus is just 26 and Serena 25. So it's not too late yet for the sisters to right the ship.

We saw evidence of that just last year when Venus, as a 16th seed, simply steam-rolled over everyone to capture her third Wimbledon Championship and fifth Grand Slam title overall.

Sure, she caught a huge break during the match when Lindsey Davenport hurt her back. But as we all know, injuries are a part of the game.

Besides, I watched that match. And on that particular day, Venus simply wasn't going to be denied. She would have won, even if Lindsey hadn't injured herself.

In closing, only time will tell, if the Williams sisters are indeed "supernovas" who burst onto the scene with so much incredible promise and are suddenly gone!

Dale King is the owner of the new Internet Marketing website, GuruKnowledge.org

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