On match point in the U.S. Open semifinals Saturday night, defending champion Serena Williams was penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct — a bizarre, ugly finish that gave a 6-4, 7-5 upset victory to unseeded, unranked Kim Clijsters.
Did Serena Williams deserve a point deduction for her behavior?
Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:25 AM EDT
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Disappointing - apologize and explain you went nuts because you were angry at yourself for not playing up to potential
"If I could, I would shove this f***ing tennis ball down your f***ing throat..."
Yes, I would say a point deduction was warranted.
What an example for our youth. She should apologize, receive a one year suspension, and throw in some community service on top of it. Last but not least, she should have to donate her most lucrative endorsement to a charity for children.
She may have displayed some really bad judgement and behavior but she didn't commit a crime.
Hence, the call for her to do "community service" is as out of line as her tirade.
I think it was obvious in the post match interview that she was already accepting responsibility for her actions. As wrong as the foot fault call might have been, she knew she was even more wrong.
She'll be fined. I doubt she'll be suspended.
If she's savvy - she'll do a press conference and apologize, sincerely and directly to the linesperson, the fans, and Kim Clijsters.
The next few days or weeks will be about damage control - but Serena will bounce back.
She deserves a suspension and fine. It doesn't matter if it was a bad call or not. And to the people who are screaming racism, I am so sick of hearing it. Get a life and get over it.
Williams sisters hate to lose, always have some excuse. Serena KNEW she was being outplayed big time!
GO KIM!!
This way the almighty Queen can say "she lost the match, Kim didn't beat her as*", and that is one seriously large beating
I hope she gets mad and says something like she is quitting tennis because it is racist, I am really sick of the "sisters"
Bring on the "Mother," she has more class and skill than Serena carries round in that over-sized trunk
I was ensconced in the world of tennis for years while my brother was playing. Even if the line judge made a bad call, Serena's reaction was over the top and definitely unsportsmanlike.
I think that the point deduction was a more than fair punishment; they could probably give her a harsher punishment and still be well within the guidelines.
She is a great athlete, and most everyone has at least heard of her and her sister. But that doesn't mean she can get away with having a temper tantrum on the court; in fact, it means the exact opposite. Athletes of that caliber need to hold themselves to higher standards at all times. Yes, everyone has a breaking point, and I can only imagine the amount of stress that comes from playing at such a high level. But being an 'elite' athlete encompasses more than just physical skill; it is the whole package--athleticism, professionalism, class, and grace.
Hopefully this will be a wake-up call to her and she will realize that there are other amazing tennis players out there aside from her and her sister. I hope she learns more from this loss than she has from previous wins.
if i lost the first set i'd be mad too.
I cannot believe some of the stuff I'm reading. It was a bad call and she reacted - not too well I might add - but you want to stop her from playing tennis?? She lost her cool cause this kind of call is normally never called and to have it called at such a crucial time, she lost it! Yes, she was wrong for calling out the official and believe me she has paid for it with the comments that you people are writing. You were never fans of hers by the way you're talking. Trying to take this to another level with racism and bringing politics into the equasion. What has our country and its people come to. Come on y'all she had a bad night, and she might have got it to a tie break and won. If you've watched Serena, you could see that. ,,,and she did say that Clijtsers played a giood match and she always talks highly of her opponents in her interviews. In fact, they alway stay away from controversy and say very little about events and if you follow them, you know that. Serena and Venus are great tennis players and have been a big asset to women's tennis.To those who say she could have challenged the play, it is my understandng that that call cannot be challenged. If anyone knows differently, please tell us. Let's all back up and think about what we're saying and stop being so mean spirited. My goodness!! I can hear the writers not saying she was mean spirited, etc. As for the commentators excusing her, we must have been listening to different folks cause Mary Carillo doesn't let the Williams sisters get away with anything and McEnroe doesn't care for them cause they have other interests, so that just isn't true.
I've been an avid tennis fan for a long time, have followed the Williams sisters' careers and have noted a pattern when Serena looks on the verge of losing. She'll get cramps, a pulled muscle, call for the trainer, a time out - always at a strategic point in the game when her opponent is winning so that Serena can regroup and knock her opponent off stride. So, who knows, maybe her reaction was intentional so she could get kicked out and not "lose" the match. Now she can claim that she might have had a chance at victory if not for the call and penalty point. Whatever the thinking and method, it was disgraceful and unsportsmanlike to see a defending American champion behave that way. Ugly American indeed!!
If you are an avid tennis fan then you will admit that a feigned injury and/or calling for the trainer in order to get some time to get your head together is practiced by many of the elite players. Sometimes they do it just to interrupt the groove the other player is in and mess with his/her head. It is not unusual nor unheard of.
both of these black women (williams sisters) come off as butch in lesbian linguo and are much closer to being described as buffaloes without any elegance or character. They could improve their image greatly by supplementing their ugly looks with graceful behavior but it must be a cultural hurdle that deprives them of that chance too. I sure hope they both will at least gracefully fade away!
This is a bit over the top. Serena has always shown style and grace as well as her sister Venus.
Stuff happens. Over reaction...yes. Poor sportsmanship? Certainly.
She at least showed respect to her opponent if not to the line judge.
Let's move on and hope there is a lesson to be learned here.
Whoa there "keen observer". That is a little much and definitely neither graceful nor elegant. I believe you are neither keen nor observent. And I'll just leave it at that.
Controversy always seem to surround Serena. You do not get this with Venus or other players. Serena should look within herself and figure out why this is happening so often with her. By the way, didn't she already have an issue in the first round with foot faulting. I remember her staring at the official in disgust after she was called for the fault. You would never see this kind of behavior with Federer, Nadal, DelPotro or Clijsters for that matter.
Enlarging and watching the replay today, no question her hoof was touching the line and her continued attack on the Line Judge was criminal threatening at its best
She was getting her steamer trunk beat, screamed, broke her racket, threw a tantrum..you know, acted like a Williams
There was no foot fault. An unbiased review of the match will show there was no foot fault.
Whether the foot fault call was good or not is irrelevant.
A bad call is no excuse for going off on a profanity laden, menacing tirade on a linesperson.
Frankly, I haven't seen any footage that conclusively shows whether she foot faulted or not - so i think you're still suffering from a little bit of bias when you're looking at the replays.
The foot fault didn't cost her the match because that match wasn't over on that point.
She lost because of the words that came of our HER mouth - not the linespersons.
The linesperson has ONE job during the service attempt. To stare straight down the line to make sure a foot fault doesn't take place. This is her sole job. Do you think she just made it up with all the world watching? Do you think she just couldn't see it? She can judge balls coming over 100mph at the line, but she can't judge someone stepping on that line. Yeah right. It amazes me when people emphatically state that no foot fault took place, as if they could tell from any of the camera angles that were shown.
Rules are rules. She should have had more class than that. She's a professional, for Heaven's sake!
I have alway's admired Serena as a great champion but her behavior was totally unacceptable, very poor sportmanship. I can understand not being happy with the way you perform, but that's something you should deal with on your own without exposing anyone to abuse. Also, a lot of kids that look up to her were probably watching. I think she should have apologized for her behavior, it stole the spotlight that should have been upon Kim for such a great comeback after 2.5 years. Way to go Kim!
Serena would have never behaved that way if the linesman was a more imposing figure. Serena does not have the class of her sister Venus. She's always crying, like when she lost to Henin at the French open a couple of years ago. After losing she said she had a bad wrist. You never see Nadal crying over spilled milk. Also, from the video you can't really tell if it was or was not a foot fault.
What Serena displayed was that she is a bully. She is a big strong woman and she used her strength to intimidate a smaller person. to me this is very ugly coming from someone who has been blessed with a special gift and a very fortunate life. I believe that Serena here is the victim of her own Ego.
They should kick her out forever,,,,she is nothing but a RACIST,,,now watch,,,she will scream, the line judge is Racist,, bull ,it is all because I am a poor little black girl,,,