Serena ends boycott of Indian Wells Tournament

Serena Williams ends boycott of BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

By Jawad Bisharat

I guess time can heal old wounds. After over 14 years Serena Williams will once again play at the BNP Paribas Open, formally Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, Ca.. Serena has boycotted the tournament since 2001 after she was booed during her championship match against Kim Clisters. However, this was in response to Serena's sister Venus having pulled out of their head to head semifinal match just 4 minutes before the start. Did they not think this would anger the fans?? 

Richard Williams wanted to play the race card but every tennis fan knew the truth. Venus pulling out of the semi-final match against her sister Serena was orchestrated and deliberate. The fans had a right to be upset and they would have booed whether Serena was Black, white, Asian, yellow or green. This had nothing to do with race. Unfortunately, these events led to the tournament losing the Williams sisters and the Williams sisters losing the BNP Paribas Open for 14 years. The BNP Paribas Open has grown to be the 5th largest tennis tournament in the world behind only the 4 majors. 

I am happy to see Serena back, at only 21 when this occured, I'm sure most of the decisions made in regards to her tennis were made by her father. I am sure the boos left an emotional scar but now at 33 she can make her own decisions. If she believed that race was the true culprit in 2001 she would not have decided to return. She credits recently reading Nelson Mandela's book that spoke about forgiveness for her change of heart.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

During the 2001 Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California, controversy erupted when Venus Williams withdrew four minutes prior to her semifinal match with her sister Serena. Serena was subsequently booed during the championship match against Kim Clijsters and during the trophy presentation. Neither Williams sister has played this tournament since, in what has been described as the most famous boycott in modern tennis.

The following day, Serena played Kim Clijsters in the final. Venus and her father, (and coach to her and Serena) Richard Williams were booed as they made their way to their seats.^[1] Serena was booed intermittently during the final, in which she defeated Clijsters, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2.

Richard accused the crowds at Indian Wells of overt racism, saying, "The white people at Indian Wells, what they've been wanting to say all along to us finally came out: 'Nigger, stay away from here, we don't want you here.' " However, no other reports of verbal racism were reported to tournament officials, although Venus has stated without elaboration, "I heard what he heard."^[1][4] Oracene Price (mother and coach of Venus and Serena) accused the crowd of "taking off their hoods."^[5]

Effects and criticism

Since the initial controversy, neither Williams sister has played the tournament in Indian Wells. The Women's Tennis Association currently classifies the Indian Wells tournament as a Premier Mandatory event for all eligible players.^[1] Exceptions are made when players engage in tournament promotions, but Venus and Serena have both declined to promote the tournament; WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott agreed he would not, promotionally, "put them in a position that is going to be awkward," and tournament director Charlie Pasarell has stated he would accept the WTA tour's ruling.

Allegations had been made before Venus's withdrawal that Richard Williams decided who won the matches between his daughters. Those allegations continued and increased as a result of her withdrawal.

Richard has said that racial epithets were used against him and Venus as they sat in the stands during the final, but no official complaints were recorded by the tournament. Venus and Serena have been criticized for refusing to discuss the controversy, as some believe that their silence perpetuates racism.

Serena discusses what happened in her view at Indian Wells in detail in an entire chapter titled "The Fiery Darts of Indian Wells" in her 2009 autobiography, On the Line. She says that on the morning of the semifinal, Venus told the tour trainer that she had injured her knee and didn't think she could play and tried for hours to get approval from the trainer to withdraw, but the tournament officials kept stalling.

"What got me most of all was that it wasn't just a scattered bunch of boos. It wasn't coming from just one section. It was like the whole crowd got together and decided to boo all at once. The ugliness was just raining down on me, hard. I didn't know what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. What was most surprising about this uproar was the fact that tennis fans are typically a well-mannered bunch. They're respectful. They sit still. And in Palm Springs, especially, they tended to be pretty well-heeled, too. But I looked up and all I could see was a sea of rich people—mostly older, mostly white—standing and booing lustily, like some kind of genteel lynch mob. I don't mean to use such inflammatory language to describe the scene, but that's really how it seemed from where I was down on the court. Like these people were gonna come looking for me after the match. ... There was no mistaking that all of this was meant for me. I heard the word nigger a couple times, and I knew. I couldn't believe it. That's just not something you hear in polite society on that stadium court. ... Just before the start of play, my dad and Venus started walking down the aisle to the players' box by the side of the court, and everybody turned and started to point and boo at them. ... It was mostly just a chorus of boos, but I could still hear shouts of 'Nigger!' here and there. I even heard one angry voice telling us to go back to Compton. It was unbelievable. ... We refused to return to Indian Wells. Even now, all these years later, we continue to boycott the event. It's become a mandatory tournament on the tour, meaning that the WTA can fine a player if she doesn't attend. But I don't care if they fine me a million dollars, I will not play there again."