What is a winner? Is it just the number of matches won? No. A winner is also someone who is a fierce competitor, gives 110% on the court for him/herself, sets goals and is disciplined. The discipline part not only implies training, but also how one handles oneself on and off the court and upholds sportsmanlike conduct. A winner shows respect for him/herself and the game.
Serena's outburst at the 2009 US Open
Serena Williams, one of the most talented and intense players in tennis, lost her temper badly last night at the USOpen semis match against Kim Clijsters. The score was 4-6, 5-6 and 15:30 when she served a second serve and it was called a foot fault by the line judge. At first, Serena seemed to calmly get another ball and prepare to stave off match point. Something she is perfectly capable of doing. Instead, she exploded at the lines judge, dropping F*** bombs and going into one of the worse examples of unsportsmanlike conduct displayed on the tennis court.
The tourney directors and the umpire called the lines judge to the chair to relay her side of the story. After some conversation, most of which was inaudible by the fans, we saw Serena cross to Kim’s side of the court, extend her hand and let Kim know she just won. Kim was shocked and wasn’t sure what to do but shake hands and sit down.
According to the rules of tennis, if a player threatens or curses any of the umpires or lines judges, he or she gets a warning. Since Serena already had a warning because she smashed her racquet in the first set, her next warning meant a penalty point. And since it was match point for Kim at 15:40, it was the end of the match.
After the match, cameras tried to get footage of Serena backstage. Although her entourage kept the cameras from filming for any length of time, we saw enough. Serena was laughing with her sister and looked slightly cavalier about the whole thing. She then spoke at a press conference, answering questions. My hopes were shattered when she admitted John McEnroe to be one of her main idols and she didn’t regret the outburst.
Here are some questions I have been thinking about:
1. Was the line judge right to call the foot fault?
Yes. I believe the lines judge was doing her job. Both Venus and Serena were having trouble with their serves all tournament. This call didn’t come out of the blue.
2. Was the tournament referee right to enforce another warning to Serena and thus a penalty point?
Yes. Serena isn’t bigger than the game. She had already displayed horrid behavior in the prior set, received the warning and was on the verge of trouble. Serena should have learned from that and moved on. She could have used that energy to focus on her match. Easy to say, I know. But I have seen her do it.
3. If Serena had had a coach, would she have been able to better control her anger?
Yes. I am a proponent of players having a coach on the sidelines to consult with at odd games. I might be missing something, but I cannot think of another sport where a player is banned from getting coaching at certain times of the game. Even doubles players can talk to one another and strategize. But a singles player is alone. That certainly adds to the difficulty and excitement of the game, but at the same time, it puts them at a disadvantage. Taking this moment in time, a [good] coach would have been able to stop Serena from getting herself into deeper trouble. No one can say how the match would have ended had Serena’s outburst not happen, but at least it would have ended the way a tennis match should - with the winner feeling the sweet satisfaction of earning a berth in the finals and the loser virtually passing along the torch, showing grace and courtesy.
4. Did Kim win the match or Serena lose the match?
Kim played outstanding tennis. Period. She had Serena on the defense and truly was on her way to winning the match despite any outside forces. Serena wasn’t playing as well. I will not bore you with stats, but suffice it to say, the numbers spoke for themselves. Kim deserved the win either way. But I also wonder if Serena took the side of “she’s not going to beat me, I am going to lose,” thereby taking away some of the “defeated” status in Serena’s eyes. I have no proof of this, but psychologically, it takes the edge away from the loss.
My point: Serena should carry all the responsibility for what happened. She should issue a formal apology to the USTA, the USOpen execs, the lines judge and to Kim. Serena should also write an article to her fans, particularly the younger crowd, explaining why her behavior was intolerable and encouraging up-and-coming players that to be a true winner takes discipline on and off the court.
Best of luck Kim (Clijsters) and Caroline (Wozniacki). I know it will be a clean match tonight.
Serena's outburst at the 2009 US Open
Serena Williams, one of the most talented and intense players in tennis, lost her temper badly last night at the USOpen semis match against Kim Clijsters. The score was 4-6, 5-6 and 15:30 when she served a second serve and it was called a foot fault by the line judge. At first, Serena seemed to calmly get another ball and prepare to stave off match point. Something she is perfectly capable of doing. Instead, she exploded at the lines judge, dropping F*** bombs and going into one of the worse examples of unsportsmanlike conduct displayed on the tennis court.
The tourney directors and the umpire called the lines judge to the chair to relay her side of the story. After some conversation, most of which was inaudible by the fans, we saw Serena cross to Kim’s side of the court, extend her hand and let Kim know she just won. Kim was shocked and wasn’t sure what to do but shake hands and sit down.
According to the rules of tennis, if a player threatens or curses any of the umpires or lines judges, he or she gets a warning. Since Serena already had a warning because she smashed her racquet in the first set, her next warning meant a penalty point. And since it was match point for Kim at 15:40, it was the end of the match.
After the match, cameras tried to get footage of Serena backstage. Although her entourage kept the cameras from filming for any length of time, we saw enough. Serena was laughing with her sister and looked slightly cavalier about the whole thing. She then spoke at a press conference, answering questions. My hopes were shattered when she admitted John McEnroe to be one of her main idols and she didn’t regret the outburst.
Here are some questions I have been thinking about:
1. Was the line judge right to call the foot fault?
Yes. I believe the lines judge was doing her job. Both Venus and Serena were having trouble with their serves all tournament. This call didn’t come out of the blue.
2. Was the tournament referee right to enforce another warning to Serena and thus a penalty point?
Yes. Serena isn’t bigger than the game. She had already displayed horrid behavior in the prior set, received the warning and was on the verge of trouble. Serena should have learned from that and moved on. She could have used that energy to focus on her match. Easy to say, I know. But I have seen her do it.
3. If Serena had had a coach, would she have been able to better control her anger?
Yes. I am a proponent of players having a coach on the sidelines to consult with at odd games. I might be missing something, but I cannot think of another sport where a player is banned from getting coaching at certain times of the game. Even doubles players can talk to one another and strategize. But a singles player is alone. That certainly adds to the difficulty and excitement of the game, but at the same time, it puts them at a disadvantage. Taking this moment in time, a [good] coach would have been able to stop Serena from getting herself into deeper trouble. No one can say how the match would have ended had Serena’s outburst not happen, but at least it would have ended the way a tennis match should - with the winner feeling the sweet satisfaction of earning a berth in the finals and the loser virtually passing along the torch, showing grace and courtesy.
4. Did Kim win the match or Serena lose the match?
Kim played outstanding tennis. Period. She had Serena on the defense and truly was on her way to winning the match despite any outside forces. Serena wasn’t playing as well. I will not bore you with stats, but suffice it to say, the numbers spoke for themselves. Kim deserved the win either way. But I also wonder if Serena took the side of “she’s not going to beat me, I am going to lose,” thereby taking away some of the “defeated” status in Serena’s eyes. I have no proof of this, but psychologically, it takes the edge away from the loss.
My point: Serena should carry all the responsibility for what happened. She should issue a formal apology to the USTA, the USOpen execs, the lines judge and to Kim. Serena should also write an article to her fans, particularly the younger crowd, explaining why her behavior was intolerable and encouraging up-and-coming players that to be a true winner takes discipline on and off the court.
Best of luck Kim (Clijsters) and Caroline (Wozniacki). I know it will be a clean match tonight.
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing your comments, Davida. We talked about this alot while riding this AM and we agreed that she never "owned" what she did. Not only is it disrespectful to her opponent, it is downright wrong to talk to people that get paid NOTHING or very little and do the refereeing job out of the love of the game.
It made me really sad and disgusted to see her evade the questions last night and i hope she has the decency and common sense to apologize formally to the US OPEN/USTA, etc....
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