Well the ground swell and the outrage concerning the world’s #2 female tennis player has been wide ranging. Serena Williams‘ vain and naive attempt at an act of contrition would be about as believable – if a racist were to apologize after a racial attack on a minority while still laughing over the matter. Immeasurable damage has been done and so too here , in the case of Williams’ unwarranted outburst.
Williams’ outburst in her straight sets semi-finals’ loss to Kim Clijsters of Belgium.
What is even more appalling is the very fact that the USTA has failed to act appropriately. Merely firing the player , $10,500-00 for the outburst and for racket violation , pertaining to her demeanor when smashing her racket in her semi-final loss to the Belgian, Kim Clijsters . At best a suspension is warranted but we’re now being told that the Grand Slam committee will be weighing in further – as to whether or not any additional punishment will meted out against Williams.
It smacks in the face of decency and when one considers that women’s tennis is essentially one of the last bastions of etiquette and sportsmanship. One has to wonder what it is that the committee needs to assess further before doing the right thing.
In the past few days we’ve seen that civility has been left by the wayside. From Kanye West‘s asinine rant at an awards ceremony. To a member of Congress , Rep Joe Wilson (R-SC), calling the President of the United States a liar while he addresses both houses in a joint session . It would appear that this is the example that some might want to set for a younger generation.
Williams’ post-game press conference after her semi-final ouster at the US Open held at the Billie Jean National Tennis Center at Flushing , New York.
It’s somewhat ironic when you hear former player now turned television tennis analyst , John McEnroe , weighing in on the matter by stating “… Williams’ behavior was uncalled for .” In his heydays McEnroe was the poster child for unruly behavior on the court. I guess for McEnroe middle age has made him mellow over the course of time ?
In what is one of the world’s premier tennis events. The US Open is one of the four major tennis tournaments that comprises of Wimbledon , The French Open and the Australian Open. It makes up the quartet of events known as the Grand Slam And it’s deemed an honor to bear one’s name on any of the trophies in question. And as much as Williams can be admired for her tennis career. There was nothing at all admirable about her behavior and its aftermath, at all.
Kim Clijsters has to be admired for the restraint shown and the dignity with which she carried herself. Few athletes when placed in such a situation would then take the high road and not comment on the matter. If anything Williams’ outburst tainted Clijsters’ victory as it was Serena who became the topic of the moment – instead of the fans being able to bask in Clijster’s victory and the historical context of it all. She’s only the second mother to have won a tennis major in the past thirty years in the ‘Open Era’. And to think that she was able to have achieved this – after returning from a self imposed retirement to start a family is all the more amazing . Especially when one considers that this was only her third tournament back and that she was a wild-card entrant at the US Open.
Courtesy of Yahoo Sports and AP :
US Open champ Clijsters plans to keep family first
By Rachel Cohen AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP)—Kim Clijsters missed her grandfather’s 80th birthday party.
She doesn’t remember which tournament it was—five years ago, probably the French Open or Wimbledon. Back then, she was a young player chasing Grand Slam titles and the world’s No. 1 ranking.
Clijsters was again atop her sport Monday just three tournaments into her return from 2 1/2 years of retirement. She won the U.S. Open the night before, then re-entered the WTA rankings at No. 19.
But now no major, no number comes before her family.
“Little things like that are very special, because you never know how many more of those years you’re going to have,” Clijsters said.
So she’s headed home to Belgium, not planning to play again for more than a month. Her sister is due to give birth in a couple of weeks.
“It’s nice to now be able to make my own schedule, to say, ‘Look, this is something that’s really important to me and I want to be there for that,”’ Clijsters said. “I don’t want to miss it.
“That’s a nice feeling to have that I can choose.”
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Theoraclesays's Blog 
Yep these are crazy times. Lets see if USTA will take more action. I doubt it.
bobbygee
The amazing thing to me is that the USTA has sat idly by and has done absolutely nothing at all about this. Not even a formal statement has been actually forthcoming at this juncture. It’s been left to the Grand Slam committee to assess what further penalties may well be meted out to Williams. Hardly appropriate given the venue and the circumstances that this all took place under.
theoraclesays aka Alan ……..
It’s okay. I still think Serena is hot.
Maybe even moreso now.
Chris Humpherys
I’ve no problem if a player goes off on a wild tirade but for God’s sake why disparage a line judge when clearly the call was correct in the first place ?
Her behavior showed off a far more seedier side to Serena that most don’t want to see. That’s especially true of her fans who are ‘tweens and younger . It was totally out hand .
Alan
Why must should Kim Clijsters be admired for the restraint shown and the dignity with which she carried herself??? WTF? No one screamed at her. She won. Kimmy goes to the finals. She just beat the best player in the world. What “restraint”? from what? Celebrating too much? Being a little more fired up? Maybe Kim should be admired for the way she held in her excitement so well. Heck at that point Kim who has only won one, yes only 1/one/uno, Grand Slam must know she has a good chance to take her 2nd. In fact Kim’s first the 2005 U.S. Open was also after taking over a year off. So “restraint”. yes she should be applauded for using restraint. But not the type you are talking about.
I had a different take…
http://2oldformaxim.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/play-fair-with-serena/
Ronin Storm
When asked her opinion as to what went on I felt she went above the fray by not commenting on it. That to me showed restraint. Had she proffered up a thought on the matter then there’d be more to this controversy. As it is Williams had no right to berate the umpire in the manner she did. She could just have easily called for the head umpire at the time to adjudicate the matter.
So why didn’t she just do that ? It’s part of the inherent rules of the game. Or don’t they apply to her at all ?
There is such a thing as etiquette . As to Federer his outburst wasn’t as egregious and it wasn’t directed at an official. Albeit that it was infront of the public and within earshot. So what’s the point that you’re trying to make ?
Roger’s outburst in his final caught on live TV was no less appealing…”I don’t get a s**t what you have say”.
Was Federer’s expletive directed at an official ? McEnroe , Connor , Roscoe Tanner and Ilie Nastase have done far worse over the course of their careers and it was directed towards an offficial or in some cases even a ball boy or girl.
I’m a minority (Anglo Caribbean- Jamaican parentage) as well albeit that I’m not an American and even I had a problem with her outburst.
She had the recourse to have the head umpire adjudicate this all. But instead she didn’t . So who’s kidding whom here ?
http://mashable.com/2009/09/13/serena-williams-foot-fault-video/ that video shows it far to iffy to be making foot fault calls one point away from championship point.
dyslecix
See my comment to Ronin. Williams could’ve called for the head umpire to adjudicate on this . Did she do that ? No she didn’t . Instead she went off on a profanity laced tirade on an official who also happened to be a female. Her behavior was inexcusable !
She knows it and now people are trying to defend the indefensible with regard to Williams. Where’s the rules of the game and the matter of etiquette ?
Or is that what the majority of fans now want to be accustomed to on the field of play ?
Ah well…some have class, some don’t. Maybe she is just not a “gracious” loser, remember it was just her and her sister for what it seemed ages.
Al Clements
Class is taught and not born with. Here in Serena’s case she just went right off the rails.
I can see why everyone including myself thinks Serena went a little too far, but on the same notion these are very competitive athletes, and you rarely see a foot fault called. Especially one that was so close. Sure she could have taken a different approach in handling the situation, but if this were basketball or football the ref would get an ear full, and maybe give out a Technical… In this case, I don’t feel there’s a way to punish it, and she lost here argument regardless… I’m putting up my picks for Week 2 if you’re interested!
Is this your new blog? Why do you keep changing them?
chappy
Only someone with illogical thinking would be of the opinion that she did nothing wrong. She had a right of recourse which she didn’t use . All she had to do was to call for the tournament head officials to make a final ruling. Instead she berates and denigrates an official with a litany of profanity. Who did it serve best in the end ? Absolutely no one whatsoever. She got no satisfaction from it all.
On the topic of class, and how poorly Serena acted, what in the world does the title of this post have to do with anything? Only someone with illogical thinking would think Serena is ugly, ya know 🙂
dyslecix
The heart of the matter is that she behaved ugly or don’t you get it ? I guess that’s the difference between we Brits and the Americans.