Part of the problem here seems to be the media's overplay of the race in common, shared legacy factor at the expense of the individuality of athletes. Serena is a fierce competitor - even with her sister. With someone unrelated to her, expect her to be real extra on that. She has goals she has not yet accomplished and she ain't ready to lose focus.
On the other hand, Sloane would have liked a more personable Serena. Fair enough, but that defeat slapped Serena into the danger that's Sloane.
There's room in the game for both, and for more Sloanes, but the media also has to be more responsible in its collectivizing of black players. Just recently, a former tennis pro, who is now an attorney, was telling me how in the zone Arthur Ashe was ... and how much of the discordant chatter intended to distract him, did not. He attributed that to Ashe's mental preparation and conditioning early o'clock from those around him. He said Ashe thought he was superior and operationalized those thoughts on the court. Certainly, Serena knows where she stands in the game and what she can accomplish before she calls it quits. If it has to come at the expense of a friendship with Sloane, it is merely the product of human endeavor.
