Now, don't get me wrong, although the tennis player Serena Williams does nothing for me personally, I'm not calling her ugly in a physical sense - mind you when her fancily designed dress got caught in the wind at Wimbledon, she had to tuck into her shorts, *that* wasn't a good look!

No, here's what I mean when I call her ugly...

Serena and her older sister Venus are great stories of goal achievement.
Their dad decided they would both win Wimbledon, and set about learning how to coach the game, then set about coaching them.

Their style of play led to a huge shift in the way women's tennis is played, and combined with their habit of reading motivational notes between games, they became as famous as they were successful, with both of them indeed ending up as Wimbledon Champs.

They also seemed to court (excuse the pun) a lot of controversy, by having injuries both on and off court at convenient times, and never both playing well when they faced each other.

This year at Wimbledon 2007, Serena was in the headlines again.

In a couple of early games she had attracted comment by her excessive shouting and dramatics at herself - when she was winning!
Then she came against Daniella Hantuchova from Slovakia.

Hantuchova is a popular player on the circuit, but is know to have a fragile mental state on the court.

The match was in full flow when Serena collapsed to the ground like she had been shot, and the proceeded to scream as if she'd been shot.
After lengthy treatment, she hobbled around the court with a puppy dog expression, until the rain came and she got vital treatment time.

When they resumed play, Serena alternated between sprinting and jumping around the court when she won a point, to heavy exaggerated limping when she lost a point.

This without a doubt played on Hantuchova's mind, whose game promptly fell apart and Serena won.

It was undoubted sportsmanship, and unpleasant to see.
On the goal achievement front, it did the job, she won the match, and it show she is prepared to do what it takes to get her goal.

I also like to stick with integrity though, and for a 2 time former champion at the most prestigious tournament in the sport, I'd expect more.

So Serena, no doubt we'll see you again, but maybe not so ugly next time?