Comments on: VENT: SERENA WILLIAMS REACHES HER BOILING POINT OVER US OPEN FINES

By: Jess

Jess — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:35:11 +0000

And we thought the system works. I mean punishment is supposed to make you regret/realize the crime (bad-behavior) you’ve committed, right? I guess it doesn’t work for Serena. Am I too naive? ‘The world is moving around Serena’ statement is such a joke. Blame it on her PR people — are they on holiday?

I can’t wait to see her make another ‘major’ offense. Better than soap opera.

By: Marine

Marine — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:46:03 +0000

I think the fine is nothing to complain about at all. I think her true reason for writing this was a hurt ego. She has probably realised her image is tarnished and though this would help her repair it. But as usual when Serena talks without little help of PR wizards, the result is quite the opposite.

I totally agree about the points with Venus. She has stopped to act like a brat a long time ago. I think she is the one who took a step back in their rivalry and gave Serena the spotlight on many occassions. Shouldn’t have done it…I think it was probably thanks to Venus that Serena came to her senses and “apologised”. But now she’s back to her old it’s=all-about-me self…

By: MarK

MarK — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:11:55 +0000

We should not take Serena’s example and start whining about her “punishment” being too severe or too lenient. People who are in charge of these things took a long time studying all details of the incident and came up with their decision. We should accept it as it is. One can always find arguments that the fine should have been less or that it should have been more. Arguing about it is pointless.
What we know now for sure is that Serena is a very self-centered person whose interest in other people is limited to her wanting everyone to love her, mostly probably because she has learned by now that popularity means more money. Her sister Venus is a much better and classier person – there is practically no comparison. The only reason Venus seems to always support Serena in public is that she is a truly loving and loyal older sister.
This, i think, is also the reason why Serena has been beating Venus in most of their big matches for the last eight years or so – Venus is not really able to summon the killer instinct that is necessary to win when playing against her sister, while Serena has no such problems.

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:14:57 +0000

Pamala — I also apologize about spelling your name incorrectly! I know a few Catharine/Catherines who get the same treatment.

I can’t complain too much about the officiating, because sometimes it goes the other way. Then the other team’s fans get to complain!

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:05:25 +0000

Not only is she going to win another game next year, she is also going to win at least one slam next year.

As for her fans for sure, they are disappointed…but they will stand by their player. Just like Federer fans have stood by him in his mini-meltdowns this year.

From your comment, it’s quite obvious you were never a Serena fan before the USO incident…so this incident doesn’t change anything. She hasn’t lost you as a fan because you were never one of her fans.

By: sarah

sarah — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:46:18 +0000

I’ve always felt that both Serena and Venus Williams think they are divas, but especially Serena. What she did at the US Open was nothing short of disgusting and unbelievable. I’m sure she was very angry at the foot fault call, but for her to stand at the baseline, think about it, and then walk over and make those threats to the line judge was way over the top.

Personally, I think her 92K fine isn’t nearly strong enough. I was hoping they would ban her from tennis as that would surely send a message. What’s $92,000 to a multi-millionaire? She went on to Doha to win the title and another $1.5 million! Wow, now that’s punishment.

I think she has lost a lot of fans and support because of her actions. She may be a great tennis player but she leaves a lot to be desired on a personal level with her behavior on the tennis court.

I agree with a previous comment: I hope she never wins another game.

By: Pamala Knight

Pamala Knight — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:23:51 +0000

Liz, sorry about that Carolina situation . Tough love, right?

Mary, no need to apologize for the spelling–I knew you meant me, lol. Thanks.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:51:50 +0000

I apologise for spelling Pamala Knight’s name wrong in my entry above. It is Pamala, & not ‘Pamela’. Quite a nice & unique name Pamala.

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:41:01 +0000

Very well said Pamela.

I too am highly amazed that some people say that the $92K is ‘nothing’ just because Serena is a multi-millionaire. So what if it just 1% of whatever she made in that tournament? Since when did a person’s financial situation determine the amount of fine levied, even in real life away from sports? If a millionaire is speeding on a highway, he/she will (and should) be levied the same amount of fine as some other middle-class or poor person speeding. I’ve never heard of a case whereby just because a person is super-rich, the fine levied is higher, or if levied a regular fine as any other offender, it is then considered ‘nothing’.

As for people saying that Serena is money-hungry, greedy, etc, I wish to know which pro-athlete is not, if those are even the correct terms to use. In tennis, I don’t know of any – yes, not even Roger or Rafa. Almost everyone on this planet, athlete or not, wishes to earn more money…be it a Bill-Gates or someone just getting by in some poor slum. To claim otherwise is false – ok, save for the monks…but even they are involved in raising as much money as possible for charities.

These athletes, in any sport, play first & foremost for MONEY. Not points. The only exception is at the Olympic games & world-cup football/soccer. The points only become more relevant than money after they’ve hit it big-time. But even then, money is still a very important factor. Look at a player like Davydenko, despite being in the top10 for many years now & making millions in the process, he still talks endlessly about money. Even the great Roger Federer talks about money. Just as recently as the WTF in London, he said so…yet he is the top-most earner in tennis history. So is he money-hungry/greedy as well? Here is Roger’s direct quote, after the famous RR loss to Del.Potro:
“It’s not something I enjoy doing, to be quite honest. A lot of money, a lot of points on the line. So it would have been nice to go through. It was a clean sheet to the semis. I missed that. But it was against a good player today.”

Heck, even Tiger Woods, a BILLIONAIRE, still plays for money (as Pamela pointed out, to support endorsements). And he too gets upset when fines are levied against him. Usain Bolt, Micheal Phelps, David Beckham (& all soccer/football players for that matter) are all driven by money.

By all means, Serena did wrong & should be criticised for that & was rightly fined, whether it was to be the initial $10,000 or even if she was fined the whole $350,00 that she earned from the singles. But to claim that Serena’s $92k fine is ‘nothing’ just because she is a multi-millionaire is a bit ridiculous – unless of course $92k is small change to whichever tennis fan makes such a claim.

Criticise her for her actions & even her ‘ranting’ in her latest letter, but not the ‘little’ $92K. Otherwise it comes across as ‘hating’ and/or jealousy and in reality, nothing good she’ll ever do will please such a person.

And there’s nothing wrong with disliking a player – after-all, we all have our favourites and players we simply can’t stand, no matter what they do. Some people just don’t like Federer & call him arrogant for just about any reason – producing a master stroke is labelled arrogance;, others can’t stand Rafa and say he is falsely modest & fake. Similarly, some simply don’t like Serena, & will take any small opportunity to criticise her, even for a ‘paltry’ $92K fine!

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:58:34 +0000

I think the most telling statement Serena made in that whole ridiculous rant was towards the end when she stated, “If I did wrong I accept the repercussions.”
By saying “if”, Serena is basically saying that she still feels she is not in the wrong for her tirade at the USO. All the talk about wanting to hug the lines woman and writing her apologetic notes is a load of crap because Serena still feels like she didn’t do anything wrong. It amazes me how much pride and arrogance she has that she can’t even admit that she blew it without tagging the “if I did wrong” on the end of everything.
The fact is, in the real world, Serena could actually have been hit with lawsuits and been sued for all kinds of things for her behavior, such as, Verbal Assault, Verbal Assault with the intent of Bodily Harm (“I’m going to stuff this #$% ball down your @#$ throat!”, Threatening with a Weapon (tennis racket, ball), and yes, even Racial Discrimination (Lines woman was Asian). And it was all caught on video tape with sound and millions of witnesses. So if I was Serena, I would shut the hell up and be happy that I didn’t get sued or be banned from tournaments. I hope she never wins another match!

By: Pamala Knight

Pamala Knight — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:24:06 +0000

Liz,
Thanks for responding with your clarification. I hear what you’re saying but I still disagree.

To say that 92K is peanuts to Serena is nothing short of reckless. How many pro athletes do we see who adopt that same cavalier attitude towards money and their earnings and end up in dire financial distress after their playing days are over? Happens all the time in football, basketball and oh, even tennis (Bjorn Borg, anyone?). That is to say, ninety-two thousand dollars is more than the average American makes in a year and is certainly not a figure to take lightly. None of us know what it costs to live as Serena Williams–the training, the travel, etc. And before anyone gets too jealous about her Nike contract, you should read the fine print. The complex clauses that promise bonus money IF she wins grand slams, IF she maintains a certain ranking, IF, IF, and IF. Someday go read the sad, crazy tale of Venus at the end of her Reebok deal if you really want a lesson in cautionary tales of marketing companies that make one bad decision after another. Athletes endorse products but their jobs aren’t to create commercials, shoot print media and any of the other marketing that goes along with those contracts. Their jobs are to play the sport and win as many titles as they can.

The committee wanted to send Serena a message, and they did, but at the same time they’re holding her to a standard that they themselves don’t always adhere to. If she should apologize and be contrite (and I agree she should’ve) , then where was her apology after all the aforementioned incidents (FO, USO04, etc.)? And why wouldn’t Capriati or Henin be vilified to this degree for their part in the debacles or asked to apologize? Capriati, when asked in the press conference, why she didn’t acknowledge that the ball was in if she saw it that way, said that ‘it wasn’t her job to call lines.’ That’s very true, but she played Junior tennis and knows that behavior like that only leads to one label–cheater. That match was obviously egregious enough to warrant the hawkeye system’s immediate installation, though they had been toying with the idea of it for a while. Justine too, basically lied on court and everyone is really in a hurry to forgive, forget and dismiss that transgression.

Tennis has long held the reputation as a ‘gentleman’s’ sport, but with any competitive sport, the heat of battle can sometimes get the better of you. Serena’s mental game has won her many matches where she was on her way out, so things that upset the balance of All I’m saying is that Serena should be afforded the same leeway, and her apology accepted in the same manner.

And last, if the press would stop asking her about it, then I’m sure that it would go away. So there would be no whining if she weren’t given a forum for it. Sorry for the long post.

By: Marine

Marine — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:39:24 +0000

Bad calls happen to other players as well, it is a part of it and pros have to be mature enough to learn to deal with it in a proper way not by using violence.
Yes she has experienced her but her opponents could also complain at her interesting choice of taking bathroom breaks just at the time when her opponent started to get into the momentum [I refer to her matches with Hantuchova at Wimbly and Davenport]. As for the IW, well, I think she knows well why she was booed. It was because of quite a blatant attempt to help Serena get into the final. They screwed a lot of people over and she had to face the music. Martina Hingis was also booed at FO, the crowd got her bursting into tears. Does she write articles about it..? Hand incident…oh, dear. Answer this: if you are so serious about fair-play why would you serve when other person is signalling she is not ready?

I mean, if players were to list all the injustices which happened against them during their careers the lists would be endless, in many cases much longer than hers.

By: shandalar

shandalar — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:51:07 +0000

I don’t see the point of whining like this.

However much this 92k fine might be, this is merely 1.5% of her yearly incomes on court, not to mention the sponsors. She pays more because she can afford it. I think this is basic Law.

I also doubt that the people who wrote the 1st amendment thought “cool, freedom of speech will allow each and everyone to abuse one another”. I’m sure she could fine a better use to this right.

She should have complained about being fined for racquet smashing. Now there’s a stupid rule… unless you think racquets have souls and feel pain…

By: Tennisdeuce

Tennisdeuce — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:53:32 +0000

I am actually seeing this differently. I dont see the pity party. I see a woman who is itemizing the injustices that she has suffered in her chosen field of endeavour, the fact that others have gone before her who did not get the fine that she did as well as the fact that whilst she had to apologise for her bad behaviour (something that she has said repeatedly she was wrong for doing), the ITF has never once on its own issued her with an apology for what she has had to endure on the tennis court. At this year’s FO, the official could have ruled that the ball touched her opponent’s racquet, or if in doubt, replay the point; in 2003 at the FO, the umpire could have consulted with a linesperson as to whether Justine raised her hand and if in doubt replay the point; at the USO 2004, the officials could have either given her the benefit of the doubt and replayed those points or call the linesperson who made the call that it was in and continued the match and at IW, the tournament director could have come out and soothed the tempers of the folks who were booing non-stop during that match against Clijsters. I can see why some folks would feel that she is throwing herself a pity party, but I have been watching Serena’s matches for quite a number of years now and the incorrect line calls that have gone against her are too numerous to mention here. Even recently I was watching youtube videos of her matches and she was getting bad line calls. In 2003 when she came back against Clijsters at the A0 she was booed by about 1/2 the stadium just because she put Kim out of the tournament by coming back from being 5-1 down and saving match points along the way. If I were her I would feel set upon as well.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:57:51 +0000

Hi Pamela,

I didn’t mean to suggest that Serena shouldn’t care about losing the chance to win the US Open. What I was trying to say, imperfectly, was that this happened five years ago, and was addressed by the USTA, etc. Since then she has won it and many other majors as well. So her anger seems way out of proportion.

Usually when Serena makes one of her outrageous comments, I roll my eyes and say, Oh, that Serena! But this one seems so angry and she just doesn’t seem to have the slightest self-awareness.

By the way, as a Carolina basketball fan, I am well aware of the many ways that bad officiating can destroy championship dreams!