Rumour at the top - a sister act that is too cosy for comfort

It's like wading through a minefield. Step, stop, step, stop, step, BOOM! Step - the top draw in professional tennis today, men and women included, are the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena. They play with power and flair and are already, at the tender ages of 20 and 19, the most accomplished siblings in the history of the game. Stop - they are also the most controversial players in the game largely because of the presence and antics of their control freak father, Richard.

Step - because they are of African American descent and flamboyant performers, the Williams sisters have done more to break down the stilted confines of tennis than any women players before them. Stop - they have little respect for the game and are contemptuous and rude towards opponents, which helps explain why they are universally reviled amongst their peers.

Step - no one ever won a championship title while being obsessed with capturing the Miss Congeniality award. Like any true champion, the girls play with a confidence that borders on arrogance.

BOOM! - the sisters reek of suspicion, bogus injury claims and sport-damaging allegations of predetermined outcomes arranged by their father. After losing to Venus in the quarter-finals of the Tennis Masters Series at Indian Wells, a loss that set up a hotly anticipated semi-final tilt between Venus and Serena, Elena Dementieva said: 'I think their father will decide who is going to win tomorrow.' The next day, the National Enquirer ran the headline 'WIMBLEDON FIXED?' in reference to Venus' victory over her sister in last year's semi-final.

Ten minutes before their match at Indian Wells, Venus, despite being healthy enough to have easily dispatched a top-10 player in the quarter-finals a day earlier, withdraws because of tendinitis in her knee. Fifteen thousand fans in the stadium and millions of viewers in TV land are shocked, angry and outraged. 'Scandalous!' said ESPN commentator Cliff Drysdale.

I think right about now would be a good time to take a deep breath. Everything I have stated so far is either a fact or conventional logic that has been publicly articulated. I doubt very much the family Williams will read this column, but still I choose to wade cautiously through this minefield because of judges and lawyers and libellous lawsuits.