Upset with Venus Williams’ last-minute withdrawal from her ‘01 Indian Wells semi vs. Serena, the Indian Wells crowd lit into the Williams family on the day of the women’s final, when Serena faced Kim Clijsters. First, they raged at Serena when she walked on court, then they booed and hissed at Richard and Venus as they walked to the Friends Box. The crowd continued to hoot and holler with a vein-popping intensity throughout Serena’s three-set win and then on into the awards ceremony.
Stunned and irate, the Williams clan has shunned the desert tennis celebration ever since. “I don’t feel I’m wanted there, and most of all I don’t want to be there,” Venus said . “I prefer not to go. It’s as simple as that. I don’t like the way I was treated.”
Those feelings have not changed and neither sister will show up in the desert this year, even though in ‘09, new WTA rules stipulate that players who withdraw from one of the tour’s five premier events (Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing and the year-end Championships) face fines as well as a two-tournament ban at the next two premier events unless they perform “promotional activities” for the missed event. That obligation can be met within a year. Some insiders have dubbed this out clause as the “Williams Exemption,” as WTA CEO Larry Scott doesn’t like butting heads with Venus, a player with whom he is close to and who has consistently stepped up to the plate for him and the tour on other major political issues.
“I honestly don’t think they would want me to go,” Serena said. “I wouldn’t have anything positive to say. It would be kind of shooting themselves in the foot. Some things you have to stand up for. There’s been a lot of people in the past that are my race that have stood up for a lot more than not playing Indian Wells. That’s the least I can do.”
After winning the Australian Open and asked about her schedule, Serena mistakenly said that she was planning on playing all the WTA mandatory tournaments this year. Later, Williams clarified to IT that she won’t be playing Indian Wells, saying that she meant that she’ll compete in the “non-racist mandatories.”
