if she gets hurt before the tie starts

fertieg50

November 5 2010 Last updated at 04:45 PM ET
With Olympics on the Line, Williams Sisters Prove Above the Rules There are rules that show authority and create order, and then there are pretend rules intended to make people think there is authority and order. It is a big difference, and I'm not sure exactly which ones are at play regarding Venus and Serena Williams, and whether they'll be eligible to play in the 2012 Olympics.
What I do know is that the U.S. Federation Cup team will play Italy in the finals this weekend in San Diego, and the Williams sisters, as always, won't be there. They haven't played on the U.S. team since 2007.
The team regulars are Melanie Oudin, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber.
And I also know this: Fed Cup participation is supposedly -- under the rules -- used to determine who can be on the Olympic team. Yet the loyal U.S. Fed Cup players will no doubt take a back seat in Olympics, if allowed to play at all, to ...
Venus and Serena Williams.
First things first: I think the Williams sisters should be on the U.S. Olympic team. They have defined U.S. women's tennis for a decade.
But rules not only have direct meaning but also intent, and the players going by them are going to be left out of the Olympics.
Rules apply to some people more than they do to others. Here's what I mean:
In August, Venus and Serena announced they had made themselves available to play for the U.S. in the Fed Cup finals. When you look in International Tennis Federation rules, it requires that a player "makes himself available" to Fed Cup in two calendar years leading up to the Olympics.
"Made available." Those are the key words.
Well, Venus and Serena both dropped off the team in advance of this weekend, with Venus having knee surgery and Serena citing a foot injury. Neither played for the team in 2009 or, now, 2010.
That means they must play in each of the next two years or miss the Olympics, right?
Hah!
"Venus and Serena made themselves available for the 2010 Fed Cup Final," a USTA spokesperson wrote me in an e-mail. "If they come to San Diego and support the team during the matches, then that will count as one of their two requirements towards the 2012 Olympics.''
What? Serena withdrew from the Fed Cup finals more than two weeks ago, and Venus before that. Exactly what have they made themselves available for?
Photo ops? All they had to do was show up in San Diego, smile for a camera and wave a U.S. flag?
Yet they chose not to do even that.
Look, the Williams sisters clearly don't want to play Fed Cup. Ever. They say they love it, and then they don't play. Serena regularly says she'll play and then finds a reason at the last minute not to.
I saw this coming. So at the U.S. Open, the U.S. Tennis Association held a news conference to announce it had extended the contract of Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez. She was there with a few USTA people, and I asked about the Williams sisters and the Olympics.
For someone who doesn't want to play, can't she just say she has made herself available, then claim an injury and have that count toward Olympic eligibility? No, I was told. A player would have to show up in San Diego ready to play. Then, if she gets hurt before the tie starts, that counts.
Apparently, something changed, because now, it would count.
Why bother making up pretend rules? Why not just say it outright and be honest to those Fed Cup players who keep showing up?
See what I mean about real rules and pretend ones? I wouldn't be surprised to find a rulebook that says this:
Rule No. 1: We're going to make damn sure that the game's biggest stars are at the Olympics.
I mean, that's who everyone wants to see anyway. But why bother making up pretend rules? Why not just say it outright and be honest to those Fed Cup players who keep showing up?
What does it say in the rulebook about the meaning of "making yourself available?"
"Making yourself available can cover a number of different scenarios,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],'' said Nick Imison, spokesman for the ITF. "For example, a player ranked No. 5 in the country and not selected could still be considered to have made themselves available."
OK, but what about the Williams sisters' situation?
"The rules don't cover every possible scenario," the ITF spokesman said, "which is why it would ultimately be the judgment of the Olympic Committee."
That's an ITF committee. And the spokesman also sent this via e-mail from ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti regarding the Williams sisters:
"Ultimately the way to guarantee meeting the Olympic entry criteria is to receive an official team nomination for two separate Fed Cup ties in two different years during the four-year cycle. The ITF would never announce in the middle of an Olympic cycle that a player who has not received two nominations has met the entry criteria.
"If a player has not received two nominations, it would be up to the national association nominating the player for Olympic selection to state that they are in good standing with the association and have made themselves available on two occasions. If necessary, the ITF Olympic Committee reserves the right to determine their eligibility based on the information provided."
Look, I understand why anyone might want to skip Fed Cup, or for the men, Davis Cup. The tennis season is long and grueling, and it goes all over the world. So players already represent their countries everywhere they play in front of a stadium full of people.
Meanwhile, many players, men and women, seem to come down with injuries or fatigue right before Fed Cup or Davis Cup.
So a real rule requires the best players to meet eligibility requirements before the Olympics. A pretend rule only sounds like it.
E-mail me at [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]. Follow me on Twitter @gregcouch

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