PARIS -- Gossip Central reports that Venus Williams flew back to the United States Wednesday afternoon in a huff as well as a jet. According to numerous locker-room sources, including players coaches and agents, this stunned her sister, Serena, who was looking forward to playing doubles with Venus -- not to mention continuing their burgeoning domination of the big events. As a team, the Predator Sisters won the French and U.S. Opens in 1999, Wimbledon and the Olympics last year, and the Australian Open already this season.

After playing like a dog in the opening round and losing to Austria's Barbara Schett, Venus (who was the 2 seed) sat with Predator Progenitor, Richard Williams, on Tuesday as Serena (the 6 seed) barely escaped losing her own first-rounder to Sarah Pitkowski of France. That match was marked by prolonged whistling and booing by a crowd which disagreed with some calls which went against the home girl. The locals undoubtedly were also aware of the bad blood between the Williamses and Pitkowski, who accused the American sisses of being rude and arrogant during last year's indoor Gaz de France.

The Williams sisters? Rude and arrogant? Really?

At any rate, the buzz around Roland Garros is that Venus was angered not only by her own dismal performance but by Serena resuming a romance with Washington Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington.

Ah, isn't tennis great? Or at least, tennis gossip?

As well, Venus apparently wasn't about to wait around for two weeks just to watch Serena on the off chance that the two of them might intimidate everybody again and win another Grand Slam doubles title.

This is not the first time the sisters, singularly and as a pair, have shown supreme disdain for the sport. In short, massive unprofessionalism. Witness Venus' last-second pull-out of her semifinals match against Serena at Indian Wells in March -- because of bad hair or something. Massive public criticism of that trick naturally brought on cries of "racism" from Richard. Or Venus withdrawing from the Italian Open last month with some other alleged injury while she was in the process of winning, with no visible sign of any ailment, a tournament in Hamburg, Germany.

Showing no discrimination toward any particular nation, both sisters blew off -- uh, prepared, for this week's particular French Open by basically lolling around at their Florida compound. All along the sisters have practically acknowledged that they figure they can dominate pro tennis -- whether they practice and play other pipsqueak events or not. Or is tennis just a means to another end? Tuesday's editions of L'Equipe, the French sports newspaper, ran a long story about Venus shooting a Reebok commercial in which she is pictured in Kate Moss-style haute couture. Even then, she spent part of the time complaining about having to wear makeup for the shoot. "Moi, Venus, beaute futile" roared the headline. (Literally: "Me, Venus, Superficial Beauty.")

Maybe it's up to King Richard to explain to his darlings that life is truly a bitch. Or is it the other way around? Whatever. The Williams act is getting very old very fast.

Curry Kirkpatrick is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at curry.kirkpatrick@espnmag.com.