Last week, Justine Henin, the number one rockin' hardcore tennis star who is my size amidst a bunch of giants, retired. The WTA rankings have officially (and finally) acknowledged this fact and Henin is no longer listed in the rankings. The former number two, who trailed by something along the lines of 2000 points, has now claimed number one. She is none other than Maria Sharapova. And though she bugs me as a player (see any of Novak Djokovic's impressions), I fully respect her game and her new ranking. But...I wonder....
....if you gain the number one ranking by default, what is the celebration like?
Excitement? I'm sure. A party? Eh, the training appropriate type. But it cannot be the same as if she had earned it. And, in saying that, if it has come off sounding like I mean that she did not exactly earn it, it's true. She didn't. Granted, she was playing better than Henin. She earned second place and first place quit. Have you ever gotten second place in a contest, athletic, scholastic, or otherwise, and then had the first place person resign from the competition? That person was better than you and yet you end up walking out with the first place title and a second place feeling.
Sharapova has to feel ecstatic and displeased. She's a competitor. She has a drive that says she wants to earn it. She wants to work for it and receive credit when credit is due. Does she deserve the credit yet? Frankly, it doesn't matter. She's got it.
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