Is Women's Tennis Too Nice?

Caroline Wozniacki is the No. 1 woman in tennis, a sport that requires steely nerves, ruthless tactics and a willingness to antagonize opponents until they have a meltdown.

Her nickname? Sunshine.

On Monday night, Wozniacki hustled her way to a 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-1 comeback win that put her in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, one round from a potential semifinal against Serena Williams.For all her toughness, though, the 21-year-old Wozniacki doesn't inspire dread in her opponents. That's because she's too busy smiling at them, befriending them and rooting for them on Twitter.

When Williams suffered a pulmonary embolism this season, Wozniacki visited Williams at her home. When Lleyton Hewitt's toddler wandered onto the court and started crying at an Australian Open charity event this year, Wozniacki rushed to his aid. She even vacations with foes: At the end of last season, Wozniacki invited rival Victoria Azarenka, 22, to visit her in Monaco, where she lives.

"We had dinners, went to the beach, went to the aquarium, we did so many things," Wozniacki said. "No tennis."

"She talks to everybody, she's very fun all the time," said Gisela Dulko, the veteran pro from Argentina. "She's always smiling."

Even at a time when there are more players from more countries who speak more languages on the women's tour—and as a power vacuum turns most events into wide open affairs that anyone can win—the frostiness that once ruled the locker rooms in the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s has all but disappeared, players say.

In fact there's so much friendliness, and so little fear, that women from previous generations are beginning to wonder what's going on—and whether it's preventing a new champion from rising to the top.

"There's definitely a more warm and fuzzy atmosphere," said former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport. "When I played, no one said, 'Move your stuff!' or 'Get out of here!' but no one was really saying anything, either."

"If anyone even mentioned Monica Seles or Steffi Graf, it was like, 'Ahhhhhhhh!'" said Lisa Raymond, who turned pro in 1993 and still plays doubles. "You would never talk to Steffi Graf in the locker room, and I like Steffi. There was just this aura."

One possible cause for the warmer relations: The 20-somethings on today's tour grew up together outside the spotlight.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the best women—Graf, Seles, Jennifer Capriati, Martina Hingis—were all prodigies who contended for titles in their teens. Today, players need more time to develop the strength and endurance necessary to compete.

"Fifteen years ago when you were 15, you were already a pro," said Agnieszka Radwanska, a 22-year-old from Poland. "Nowadays its different, you have to be really powerful to play on the WTA."

"We all came from the juniors together," Azarenka said. "We've known each other for such a long time."

Another factor: Language is not the barrier it once was. Wozniacki is fluent in Danish, Polish and English. Radwanska speaks Polish, English and passable German, and understands some Czech and Russian. Andrea Petkovic, a 23-year-old German who will play Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, was born in Bosnia and speaks five languages.

Ask this generation about camaraderie on the tour and they quickly divulge details.

In Sydney, Australia, three years ago, Petkovic and Julia Goerges, her 22-year-old German countrywoman, were sharing a room to save on expenses when they had to play each other in a tournament.

"I had three match points and I lost," Petkovic said. "Three match points! Afterwards we took transportation, we went to the room together, went to dinner—everything was fine."

During the first week of the U.S. Open, Azarenka accidentally picked up Goerges's identification badge and spent all of her money in the players' restaurant (Goerges, meanwhile, was locked out of the gym). "Then I looked and I said, 'Oh my God, it's not my picture!'" Azarenka said. "Julia's a cool girl, she took it really well."

The vibe on the tour is so much friendlier that even teasing is acceptable. After her win Monday, Wozniacki imitated Rafael Nadal's bout with leg cramps during a press conference earlier this week. Wozniacki smiled and laughed as she pretended to slide off her chair.

The men's tour adopted a friendlier tone years ago. Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 player in the men's game, is famous for his impersonations. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal arrange charity events for each other. When Federer cried after losing the 2009 Australian Open final to Nadal, Nadal put his arm around Federer and consoled him. This made Jimmy Connors angry.

"The only way John McEnroe and I would have consoled each other would have been by hitting each other in the head with the racket to make sure it was really over," Connors said.

Wozniacki and her contemporaries aren't nearly as chummy as the women who built the tour in the early 1970s, but players from that era see some similarities. "We were thrown together," Chris Evert said. "We didn't have coaches, so we practiced with each other and we ate with each other every day.""With Kim Clijsters coming along and now Wozniacki, they're more outgoing and seem to embrace friendships," said former world No. 1 Tracy Austin.

There are those who resist the good girls' charms. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who will play Williams in the quarterfinals at the Open, said she has trouble confiding in future opponents.

"I get along well with a lot of players, but we're not best friends," she said. "We have to compete against each other."

And then there are the holdovers from previous generations, like Williams and Maria Sharapova. This spring, Sharapova called the locker room "the worst place in the world" and said she had no interest in having dinner with someone and then playing her the next day.

For a generation that has so much good, it's distinctly lacking in great. For the first time in the history of women's tennis, there's no obvious superstar on the horizon. Since 2008, four women have attained the No. 1 ranking for the first time. Together, they've won just one Grand Slam title.

"If Serena Williams goes out, you can pick a winner like this," Raymond said, covering her eyes and imitating pin the tail on the donkey. She wonders if the friendlier tone among players and the lack of champions-in-waiting are related.

"If you want to be No. 1 in the world, I'm not saying you have to be a total jerk, but...," she said, trailing off.

Samantha Stosur, the Australian who also reached the Open quarterfinals this week, isn't so sure.

"If Federer and Nadal can seemingly get along so well, then why can't everyone else?" she said. "They've got one of the greatest rivalries in sports."

Asked if her friendship with Wozniacki interferes with her tennis, Azarenka scoffed. "We're there fighting like tigers," she said. "On the court, nobody cares to be nice."
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