Tennis Legend Gives Encouraging Advice to Caitlin Clark
Indiana Fever rookie star Caitlin Clark has been one of the most talked about names in the wide world of sports. She has single-handedly put the WNBA back on the map and brought more popularity to the sport than it has ever had before.
However, even with the attention she has brought to women's basketball, she has become one of the most polarizing names to ever play professionaly.
Some fans absolutely adore Clark for her talent, the way she carries herself, and how she has impacted women's sports. Others vilify her, for no real reason other than because she's herself.
Despite all of the criticism, Clark has continually risen above the talk. She has focused on basketball and her teammates, which is all any team could ever ask from a player going through this kind of situation.
While a lot of high-profile people have shared negative views about Clark, she has one Tennis legend watching her back.
Serena Williams, arguably the best female athlete of all-time, spoke out and provided some encouraging advice to Clark.
"I just love that she tried to stay grounded and that she doesn't ... look at her social [media]. I get it. I don't either. And I think it's so important to continue doing what she's doing."
Williams continued forward, encouraging Clark to just continue doing what she's been doing so far in her young WNBA career.
"And no matter what other people do, if people are negative then it's because they can't do what you do … basically. And hopefully she'll continue to do what she's doing."
So far in her rookie season, the former college basketball superstar and high NIL earner has had an up-and-down year. She has averaged 15.6 points per game to go along with 6.0 assists and 4.9 rebounds. Unfortunately, she has also averaged 5.5 turnovers per game.
Clark has shot just 36.7 percent from the floor overall and 32.2 percent from three-point range.
Due to the slow start to her WNBA career from what fans had watched in her college career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, she has been criticized.
Apparently, fans expected a rookie to come in and average 30 points per game. No one should expect that from any rookie in any sport.
The media is going to continue attacking Clark. Some of the fans are going to continue heckling her.
All Clark has to do is remain grounded and simply prove them wrong with her play on the court and how she handles herself away from the game.
EVAN MASSEY
Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers both the NFL and NBA. He has worked for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net, and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.