The Guardian - WTA goes out of its way to keep Williams' Sisters Happy BY STEVE BIERLEY It was nasty and it developed into blatant racism. Now, eight years after the crowd booed Serena Williams's victory over Kim Clijsters in the women's final at Indian Wells, the sisters remain notable by their absence this week, as they have been since 2001. But this year they will be back, if only briefly, Venus in July and Serena, the world No1, in October. 这是一段糟糕的过去 并且後来发展成种族歧视事件 现在距离Serena Williams在嘘声中击败Kim Clijsters的比赛已经过去八年 但这两姐妹仍然坚持在Indian Wells罢赛 只是今年他们将回到那里 Venus在七月 而Serena在十月 The healing of the rift between the tournament, one of the most prestigious in women's tennis, and the Williams family is essentially no nearer to being resolved but, with the WTA having implemented new rules for this year, with such top tournaments "mandatory", a compromise had to be reached to avoid the embarrassing and damaging suspension of the two best women players in the world. 治癒这个伤口本来是遥遥无期的 但由於WTA的强制参赛新规定 所以双方必须有一个妥协才能避免两位最佳女球员面临尴尬的强制禁赛 So both of them will take part in what might be described as community service, although they can pick a place within 125 miles of this desert town where Afro-Caribbean faces are not so much in the minority as virtually nonexistent. They are set to lose $400,000 (Serena) and $200,000 (Venus) out of an annual bonus pot, although to them this is small change. In other words the WTA, the women's ruling body, has bent over backwards not to upset the Williamses. Small wonder that some cynics refer to the WTA as the Williams Tennis Association. 两姐妹都必须参加被形容为"社区服务"的活动 他们要在赛会125英里内参加推广活动 另外Serena还会损失40万的红利奖金 而Venus则是20万 虽然对他们来说只是小钱 换言之WTA最後选择不使威廉丝姐妹失望 怪不得有些人会说女网协会(WTA)代表威廉丝网协(Williams Tennis Association) Serena had previously won the title in 1999, when she was 17, but a huge row erupted two years later when, 10 minutes before the sisters were due to play in the semi-finals, Venus pulled out. By coincidence the National Enquirer ran a cover story the next morning claiming that the 2000 Wimbledon semi-final between the sisters had been rigged, to allow Venus to reach the final, which she won against her fellow American, Lindsay Davenport. Serena曾经在1999年以十七岁之龄率先在此地夺冠 但两年後由於Venus在姐妹四强赛前十分钟退赛爆发纠纷 National Enquirer在隔天早上甚至声称两姐妹在2000温网的四强也是假球 故意让Venus进入决赛 然後打败Lindsay Davenport夺冠 "Usually I don't get involved in these controversies," said Serena at the time. "But, come on, it's the National Enquirer. Next thing you know I'm going to be pregnant by some Martian. It's just not true, and it's kind of hurtful because it's just lies, just scandalous lies. The matches aren't rigged." "通常我不喜欢跳进这些纠纷"小威当时说 "但天啊 这是National Enquirer耶 下一个你知道的消息搞不好会是我怀了火星人的孩子 那些根本就不是真的 我觉得有点伤人 这些明明都是负面的谎言 我们的比赛不是假造的" In the Indian Wells final Serena was booed from the start, with any errors or double faults loudly cheered, while Richard Williams, who was watching with Venus, claimed they were both racially abused. They vowed never to return and have remained true to their word, despite the attempts of Larry Scott, the WTA's chief executive, who last year redoubled his efforts to get the sisters to end their boycott. "It's been a long time but I think they've got deep feelings about the subject," Scott said. "When I've had conversations with them, let's just say they've been emotional conversations. I'm sensitive to their issues and concerns but I'd undoubtedly like to see them come back to play." 在当年决赛中小威从开赛就被嘘 每当他失误或是双误时就会有叫好声 Richard Williams当时跟Venus一起观赛 他声称他们被种族歧视 他们发誓再也不要回到这边 而为了保持誓言 尽管WTA的CEO Larry Scott试图说服两姐妹停止杯葛 他们还是拒绝参赛 "我想已经过很久了 而他们对这个议题也有根深蒂固的看法 我们对这件事情讨论的时候都相当激动 我对他们的顾虑很敏感也很担忧 但我无疑地希望再次看到他们前来比赛" This year's compromise allows both players to avoid fines or suspension, not that the latter was ever likely. "We're not going to put them in a position that is going to be awkward. It will be neutral, something to promote the Southern California Tennis Association or the juniors," Scott said. 今年的妥协允许两姐妹避免罚款或是禁赛 不过本来就不太可能对两姐妹禁赛 "我们不会让他们陷入尴尬中 这会是很中性的活动 例如推广南加州网协或是青少年网球" Scott说 Charlie Pasarell, the tournament chairman, has been forced to accept the situation, although he knows it damages the credibility of his event, where this week the top three seeds had lost by Wednesday, emphasising the weakness of the women's game, and underlining the strength of the Williams sisters, who have won the last three majors. "What happened way back then was unfortunate and we hope some day they do come back," said Pasarell. There seems little chance. Indian Wells的赛会主席Charlie Pasarell只能被迫接受这个结果 虽然他也知道结果对他的赛会会有损失 前三种子都在这个礼拜三之前就输汪了 凸显出女网的缺陷以及威家姐妹的重要 "之前发生的事情很不幸但我们希望有天他们愿意回来"Pasarell说 但看来希望不大 -- --

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