Kim Clijsters outplayed Serena Williams in the US Open semifinals on Saturday night, despite being only three tournaments into a comeback and having a dismal pre-retirement record against Serena. (Saturday’s straight-set victory brings Clijsters win-loss record to 2-7 vs. S. Williams.) The unseeded Belgian will play teenager and first time Major finalist, Caroline Wozniacki, for the title on Sunday evening.
This should be the big US Open story after almost two days of rain delay, but it isn’t. Instead, we have The Great Serena Williams Meltdown of 2009.
Here’s the sterilized statement from the Tournament Director:
Statement from Tournament Referee Brian Earley regarding the end of the Kim Clijsters vs. Serena Williams match: Serena Williams was assessed a Code Violation, Warning, for racquet abuse after losing the first set, 6-4.
At 5-6, 15-30, Miss Williams was called for a foot fault on her second serve, making the score 15-40. She then yelled something at the line umpire, who reported it to the chair umpire. Based on the report, Miss Williams was assessed a Code Violation, point penalty, for Unsportsmanlike Conduct, ending the match.
Thanks for clearing that up, Mr. Earley, but inquiring minds want to know: What exactly did Serena say to the linesperson who (mistakenly?) called the foot fault?
Answer: “I swear to God I’ll fucking take this ball and shove it down your fucking throat! Do you hear me? I swear to God. You better be glad–you better be fucking glad that I’m not, I swear.”
1. Unedited live broadcast on Westcoast.
1. Closer shot of Serena’s outburst at the lines woman.
To recap. . .
Brian Earley to the linesperson: “What did she say to you?”
Lines person: “She said ‘fuck you.’”
Serena runs up: “Are you scared? Because I said I’d get you? I’m sorry because a lot of people have said a lot worse.” Awkward pause and then Serena digs her hole a little deeper: “I didn’t say I would kill you! Are you serious?”
(Psst! Serena! You’re only making it worse.)
In her post match presser, Serena admitted that she’d misheard the linesperson’s report – the linesperson actually didn’t tattle about Serena’s threats.
Q. On court it was picked up where you said, I would never say such‑and‑such to you.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Because I think she said I would kill you, and I was like, What? I was like, Wait a minute.
But then I had misheard. She had never said that. So that was just something ‑‑ I was like, Whoa. Because I was like, Wait a minute. Let’s not ‑‑ because I’m not that way. So.
She was like, No, I didn’t say that. She said something else. I said, Oh, okay. I get it. And I was totally fine, because at that point I realized I got a point penalty and it was match point.
What can I do? I’m not going to complain. It was what it was.
Am I the only one who finds all of this mildly amusing? Maybe I’m just twisted. Too many tennis snuff films.
It appears that Serena was remarkably subdued in her post match press conference. (I’ll try to update with a better quality one when it becomes available):
Best excuse ever: “My idol is John McEnroe.”
But this is the line Serena will need to cut out and tape to her bathroom mirror: “It pays to always play your best and always be your best and always act your best no matter what.” Amen.
Click here for the full transcript.
What’s your take?
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The always upbeat Kim Clijsters Twittered her thoughts at around 2am, NYC time:
That’s great, Kim, but get some rest, okay? The women’s final is Sunday evening, broadcast live on ESPN2 starting at 9:00pm, Eastern.
Serena will be looking for consolation/redemption on Monday, when she and Venus play for the US Open doubles title. Their opponents are still TBD – the Black/Huber vs. Stosur/Stubbs semifinal will be played on Sunday. The women’s doubles final will be broadcast on Monday at 1:00pm ET on ESPN2.
Oh, and to “wrap” Day 13: Rafael Nadal is finally into the semis with a straight sets win over Fernando Gonzalez. He and Juan Martin del Potro will play on Sunday at noon, ET – the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Federer vs. Djokovic follows at 4:30pm. CBS will broadcast the match, ominously, “following football.”
At least we don’t have the old “Roger gets lucky with the scheduling” controversy. Right?
Tags: curses, cusses, ejected, expletives, f-word, Kim Clijsters, loses, men's final, Serena, tennis, tennis broadcast, US Open, video, women's final
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I really don't think she actually foot-faulted. Which means the entire situation was completely bogus. Venus and her seem to have fallen victim to an UNUSUALLY high volume of foot fault calls at this year's Open. Am I the only one that noticed that? Not only in her matches, but Venus' as well. Serena lost her temper but after the Williams have been treated (Justine's raised hand at Roland Garros, Venus losing because of poor score-keeping at Wimbledon, the girl in Paris who was hit by Serena's ball and was awarded a point, the poor line calls in the Capriati match a few years ago "The Ball Was In!)… you can only get kicked in the teeth so many times, before you have a blow-up. It was uncharacteristic of her, but I'm sure she learned the lesson.
I just read Tom Perrotta's take at tennis.com. I like what he had to say about the stupidity of foot fault calls in general and how this crazy occurrence will likely lead to some change in the rules or review system (like so many Williams-related line call debacles). Also some nice perspective on tennis player tirades in general (Jimmy Connors really called a chair ump "an abortion" and got away with it? -Yuck.)
Perrotta also had an interesting point about a linesperson "inserting" herself into the match – and how fans are the biggest losers when nit-pikcy, possibly erroneous, calls are made at high-stakes moments. Then again, if the line judge doesn't call 'em how she sees 'em (even if she sees them wrong) doesn't that become a judgment call of a stickier kind?
In the end, I see it this way – totally sucky finish to a good match, but the rules are the rules. If Serena had held it together even a little bit, the match would have been played out. And likely would have had a similar conclusion.
Here's the link to Perrotta's piece – if you haven't read it already – highly recommended: http://www.tennis.com/features/general/features.a...
kim is a big tennis player. serena, please.. go home baby. .. and d'ont cry .. !
I am both angry for Serena and angry with her. What a mess. On one hand, it's a shame to call a foot fault at a moment like that. And as James pointed out above, Serena in particular has gotten so many bogus calls over the course of her career that I think this just pushed her over the edge. She's always just taken them before. She was already playing angry–the smashed racket being a primary example–so I think this was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. She was rightfully angry.
But… you can't act like she did on the court. She should have gone to the chair umpire with her concerns instead of losing it the way she did.
It makes me really angry on Kim's behalf, because it takes away from her victory. She deserved to win in a legitimate way, and this just completely deprives her of her moment.
I also feel really bad for Wickmayer and Wozniacki. Not only did they get shoved to the smaller court with almost no audience, and without their match being broadcast, but they're barely being mentioned at all in the wake of Serena-gate. Making it to the semis of a Grand Slam is an amazing accomplishment, and they didn't really even get to experience it.
What we need is hawk-eye for the baseline so she could have challenged that call!
Totally agree!
An interesting tension between a legalistic argument – "rules are rules" and a more humanist argument "totally inappropriate call given the timing/atmosphere/setting/moment". Rules were designed to prevent one player from gaining an unfair advantage, can we really say that in this instance, Clijsters was being disadvantaged?
If anything, she was robbed of a chance to earn the victory by the call.
I think it's a bit of a fiction to think that lines persons just call what they see 100% of the time without any sort of discretionary decision. The lines woman made a conscious decision to call a foot fault. Bad call? I think so. Although it didn't warrant the expletives being rained on her a few moments later. I wish Serena would formally apologise.
Serena is a poor sport. She always has been. She never gives credit to her opponents when they beat her and in fact depending on her mood is condescending. She was angry because she was getting beat by Kim who has been absent for two years and (throwing her racket)
Serena pushed the envelope and if she is a first class athlete why doesn't she bring her foot back a bit just to make sure she doesn't foot fault. You want to talk about bogus.
Not to add fuel to the fire but the facts are the facts……..there is a long history of racial tension between asians and blacks in our country
I want to see a tennis snuff film! do you have any in your home library?
great post and tennis article with very good perspective on the matter! couldn't believe the way it went down! yes, the foot fault call was questionable, especially at a crucial stage, but to me that is no excuse for verbally abusing the lines woman. obviously serena was being outplayed and was super frustrated and other factors may have come into play, but that is completely unsportsmanlike conduct and she deserved the point penalty, regardless of when in the match it came. the lines woman didn't even rat her out completely, but the mics picked up the full rant. #1 in the world or not, she should have handled things more professionally. i also understand that it's hard to keep cool under pressure filled circumstances. i was instantly reminded of the safin foot fault. he said some expletives there, but i don't think he verbally abused the lines person. it was more a general expression of frustration and he discussed it with the umpire.
full marks to kim for playing a fantastic match! i want her to win the whole thing! and it is too bad that this whole situation overshadowed and pushed aside the other semi. the mcenroe comment in her presser was funny. johnny mac later said something like, maybe she idolized me for the wrong reasons. the whole thing was crazy and fascinating.
this whole thing reminded me of serena's 'can't spell dynasty without nasty' t-shirt. this is a poor example to kids and people everywhere. let the racquet do the talking. she may be undermining her slams and her legacy. i love it when people show emotion, confidence and heart on and off court and there is no doubt she is an unbelievable fighter and competitor, but you have to remain respectful, professional and be a positive example. kids are looking up to you!
You're right– I was at the match in Cincinnati when Safin went off the rails for the foot fault calls. And he never attacked the lines person like that. He cursed and argued with the chair umpire, but no, he didn't threaten or berate the lines person.
I was disgusted by Serena's post match interview. CBS showed it live after the match. You could see Serena was using every bit of her acting skill in the interview. She tried to make the situation as if it was a minor incidence. She had no remorse, no apology. She tried to charm the press by making jokes, stressing that "I try to be really professional " (liar, try harder), and 'If I get hit, I say I got hit, you know. I play by the rules. That's what it was." (she sank to her new low by bringing this in amidst what just happened)….
Then before CBS ended the night, there was a gem from Mary Carillo: "She did not win the match tonight, but she should win an Oscar for her post match interview…" Mary was right on the point.
I think the question of whether the foot fault was correct is not knowable by us spectators. I sincerely hope that officials are able to view that service point from a different angle to confirm whether it was. Of course Serena's actions were inexcusable, but I think the line judge's call should still be scrutinized, as indeed, it put Serena down double match point. The two issues are exactly that–two issues.
I do not agree that foot faults should be considered "ticky tacky" and not to be called when stakes are high. Tennis is a game of inches (and line calls) and that is true for tennis balls and tennis shoes. If you're not allowed to step on the line during your serve, then there is no good way to say, well it's no biggie. In other words, the line has to be drawn somewhere. And the clearer it is for line judges to do their job, the fairer the game is. Remember, there are two players out there, and it wouldn't have been fair to Kim for the line judge to have said, well it was a fault, but just a teeny tiny one.
Hey guys – I don't have to say this to the regular commenters – but please refrain from personally attacking others. If you disagree with someone, by all means tell us why. But swearing and insulting them instead of debating earns you a default.
ESPN2 has now broadcast a frontal close-up shot of Serena's service point where the foot fault was called. I think the video shows clearly and convincingly that the call was correct. She foot faulted.
Here are updates: Serena is going to be assessed a fine, and might be defaulted from the doubles final tomorrow. She might also be facing a suspension.
Oh sigh. . .let's really ruin this for the fans by defaulting her from the tournament. They won't even be able to boo her a little bit if they feel like it.
And let's suspend her so there is no drama or dominance on the women's tour. Dinara can be the real No. 1 now. Poop.
The frontal footage isn't as clear or convincing as a Hawkeye review. It's like the old line-call video replays: fuzzy and inconclusive. Interpret it to one's own advantage.
Hi all,
Well here's my take on this. First, in general, I think that foot faults should never be called except if it is a flagrant fault. Serena's foot fault was clearly not flagrant, since from everything I read, even from videotape, it still remains inconclusive whether a foot fault occurred or not. Having said that, I think that Serena totally overreacted. her behaviour was, frankly, ugly and juveline. Had this happened to Venus, she would not have reacted in this manner. She needs to learn from her sister who is far and away the more mature and level headed of the two. In any case, she should have addressed her complaint to the chair umpire; she certainly should not have abused the line judge in any way.
Cheers,
alista
After this and Vera's meltdown, I think there should be an On-court Mommying rule.
Serena's left foot is clearly on the line asbefore her racquet strikes the ball. That is a foot fault, and she and McEnroe know it! Stop whining! She acted as a spoiled brat. And got called for it, as she should have.
Really? Who's whining here?
Just want to bring this up because it's on my mind. Serena Williams is the way she is. You either relish the drama she brings to the court (for better or worse) or you think she's a failure as a champion.
Personally, I think champions come in all stripes – the crazies, the brats, the stoics, the entitled, the humble, the saints and the sinners. I don't want everyone to be the same – that would be boring!
(Reference: Ille Nastase, John McEnroe, Arthur Ashe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, etc.)
I think this says it all!
I think Serena lost the match on her own power — not only by not playing well against Kim, but because she had a meltdown on court. She's been around long enough to know the rules. Also, if she hadn't smashed the racket earlier, she wouldn't have had to default.
And I think Kim deserved to win the match outright and that she would have won the match even without the default.
Really sad to see the match end that way. I also feel bad for Kim who couldn't really celebrate winning the match.
I agree completely. Instead of talking about Kim's remarkable achievement, we're talking about the incident. There's no way anyone can ignore it, so we're going to be talking about it. Kim deserves better than that.
I reviewed the frontal replay a dozen times. I sincerely wish to confirm the accuracy and I don't have an "advantage" one way or the other in this case. I think Serena's outburst and the question of the foot fault should be treated distinctly. And if it were verified that the call of foot fault was incorrect, then perhaps the line judge should be reprimanded (or replaced). I do think that foot faults have to be called per the rules, but especially at such a high stakes time in the match, it had better be clear and convincing to the judge. I have my issues with Serena from time to time, but I wouldn't wish a bad call on her or anyone else. At the end of the day, we have to preserve the integrity of the sport.
Wow, I had no idea that tennis could be this interesting. All our hopes and fears played out in a meaningless game. Thanks for distracting us with something of no consequence.
all i keep thinking is… the serena semi default will someday appear in a TC 'best of 5 meltdowns' ep, along with vera zvonereva dramatically taking the tape off her knees and banging at her knees while sitting on the court, during that epic match against flavia p. this USO has certainly been a ride so far!
Totally agree, Judy! What with Zvonareva vs. Pennetta, Venus vs. Clijsters, Serena vs. Clijsters, and of course Melanie vs. the Russians, the women have been supplying enough drama for both the mens and womens draws! And some pretty fun tennis, too.
I hope this shuts up some of the \”men should be paid more\” stuff. The women have been pulling their weight!
For every argument about "more drama" there is an argument about "higher quality". So, let's not go into discussion of speed and power of the game because in such discussion men will come out ahead every time. Let's talk of quantity only.
Of course men should be paid more in those tournaments where they are required to play best of five sets while women only play best of three sets. Being paid the same for more work is not any different from being paid less for the same work. It is discrimination, pure and simple. When men play between 50% (in case of straight set matches) and 67% (maximum of five sets versus three sets) more than women, they should be paid between 50% and 67% more.
I'm thinking about foot faults.
When I first watched tennis I was a contemporary of Chrissie, Evonne, Andrea. Tracey Marina et al. A foot fault was a very common call, even for the best of the best. I think it's great that foot faults are almost as rare as macrame.
Venus, as I remember, got called for foot faults and didn't threaten a linesperson. The Williams game is sharp, aggressive and fast, fertile territory for foot faults. It's something in their wonderful game they should think about.
The more I think about it the less sympathy I have for one of my favorite players. If she were my daughter….
Serena showed no class, for someone who has made over 25 million on tennis matches, this is sad
Serena acted no differently than countless men over the ages. It's sexist to treat her differently than any of the male players. Gonzo knocked himself in the head with his racquet toss. Did he get fined? With a million dollars on the line and her history with unsuccessful pleas to umpires, that lines woman is lucky she didn't do more.
"Countless men over the ages" have also been given warnings, fines, point penalties, and have been defaulted from matches for similar behavior. A big case in point was John McEnroe, who was defaulted from the Australian Open for an outburst. And I think there is a big difference between knocking yourself in the head out of frustration and threatening a lines judge. Serena's behavior was extreme. She should be grateful the USTA 1) let her play the doubles final 2) spared her a major suspension and 3) even worked with her on her apology until she finally made it, well, an apology.
I'm pretty sure that the players get fined for racquet smashing all the time. When Fena smashed his racquet earlier this year against Roger, he was given a warning and fined, just like Serena was last night when she smashed her racquet. I believe the same happened to Roger when he smashed his racquet. The reason they're making a big deal out of Serena's situation is because of the additional explosion which resulted in the point penalty and bigger fine.
Sharapova cursed not once but twice in different matches. No warning or fine. Commentators chuckled. You tube video of both incidents. Would send you link but it gets deleted.
Sharapova cursing at ump: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htF0eMiEHvk
Sharpova again:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htF0eMiEHvk
Federer smashing racquet 2009 in Miami, gets booed, Mary Carillo says he's just not a boo-able guy- no warning/fine/no apology says move on just like Serena did:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-e-Ud-ly04
I have been all over the internet tonight. A whole lot of players on tape, smashing racquets and not getting warnings. Federer did not get a warning in Miami this year. Roddick has beaten his racquet on the gound multiple times and has argued with ref. multiple times. Don't tell me there is no double standard. Sharapova cursed at ref- yes the F-word- no warning, just a chuckle from the commentators. She let the S-word fly- no warning. Youtube has all the videos. Go search fo yourself.
Federer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXeysnDFchA
Shrapova: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htF0eMiEHvk
Sharapova: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKvNZq5JPTY
So, if you ad an outburst in addition to a racquet smash you get a threat of suspension. Thanks so much for clarifying the rules.
For all ya'll who think miss sharapova and mr federer are angels check out these youtube videos. Sharapova is a potty mouth and Federer has a temper. Let's say it all together now: DOUBLE STANDARD.
Fed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-e-Ud-ly04
Miss thang: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cmMpZekjD8
Hi KCH – Actually, you do hear the chair ump in one of the Fed vids you posted (I believe the first one) giving a warning for racquet abuse.
I understand your point, and think that in terms of the big Meltdowns of say, a Connors or McEnroe, Serena is on par or slightly milder. But I also think that there is a huge difference between dropping some F bombs to a chair umpire and/or smashing your racquet in frustration, and laying into a linesperson the way Serena did.
First thing first
1. She showed bad sportsmanship in front of millions of viewers(well it's the final match)
2. she did say those exact words in a threatening manner, the way she pointed her raquet at the lineperson.
3. foot fault call was not a mistake, ESPN2 shows it was legit. Rule is rule, tennis is all about 1 inch of line accuratecy.
4. she acted out of questions regarding this matter and did not apologize at all.
5. $10,000 penalty out of $350,000 reward? are you kidding me? my kids could have been watching this. I order a lawsuit against Serena for bringing inappropriate view in a sports event where all ages participate.
First thing first
1. She showed bad sportsmanship in front of millions of viewers(well it's the final match)
2. she did say those exact words in a threatening manner, the way she pointed her raquet at the lineperson.
3. foot fault call was not a mistake, ESPN2 shows it was legit. Rule is rule, tennis is all about 1 inch of line accuratecy.
4. she acted out of questions regarding this matter and did not apologize at all.
5. $10,000 penalty out of $350,000 reward? are you kidding me? my kids could have been watching this. I order a lawsuit against Serena for bringing inappropriate view in a sports event where all ages participate.
Read more: http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/09/12/video-pl...
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Your kids have seen much worse. Did they happen to see Federer curse out the umpire the very next day? That was OK of course cuz he's a cute caucasian man. What about Sharapova cursing out the umpire not onece but twice. Gonzo not only slammed his racquet and hit himself in the head he broke a racquet earlier in the match. No warning or point penalty for second incident. Of course a 6 foot caucasian man throwing and breaking rackets isn't threatening to anyone. Serena was using a figure of speech; pretty sure she doesn't have a history of shoving anything down anyone's throat. Just like when you tell your kids you "could strangle them" you didn't commit a felony a few minutes later.
what are they doing abt the ref wrong call
They are clarifying to bloggers that it ws ref right call.
I think many people are missing the boat. As always the players' characters are a big part of what attracts viewers. Like or not, although censors edit it, profanity is very common in ALL professional sports, even in golf. Serena is Serena. However, what I think happened was that Serena took the call and was upset obviously, but she turned to get a ball and begin her serve. At the point where she faced the line judge the line judge was smiling. This was seen during the broadcast when the camera zoomed on her reaction. I think that is what sparked the outburst that was already boiling inside. Additionally I agree with many others that the decision to give the point penalty was uncalled for; a warning would have been more appropriate at match point. Again profane language in all sports is tolerated and unless there is zero tolerance in the "rule book" it is discretionary to penalize a player. P.S. the lines judge was wrong: Serena did not say "F*** You" she said your "F***ing throat." The point being would the statement have been treated any differently if she had used the word "Freaking." Was the penalty for profanity or abuse, if abuse then that is one gentile lines judge.
It's delusional to think serenas comments were "extreme". She war gesturing with her hands and then her racquet. How many of us have said "I could just strangle you" or "i'm will kick your ass," it's a figure of speech. Just because you perceive Serena as a "big black woman" you're all of a sudden threatened. Like she has soooo much history for beating up lines women or anybody for that matter. And when the 6' men rant and rave, that's not threatening of course. Give me a break. Caucasian people are always so fearful of anything a black person does unless they are grinning and tap dancing. Serena and Venus have mostly been model tennis players, bowing and scraping in the face of many a bad, unfair, racist event. SHE finally reacted like y'all and now you're fearful. String her up!!! You site the "degree" of the incident. When Federer cursed out the umpire "it was with such aplomb" "he's so cute doing it." You are so blinded to your hypocrisy. He was issued no warning. I'm sure the rules don't say if you are cute and sarcastic you get a pass and if you gesture and are a muscular black woman, throw the book at her cuz of course her next step would have been to shove that tennis ball down that pooooor woman's throat.
Your racial angle is completely misdirected and erroneous here, no matter which three initials you are using as signature under every one of your comments.
In my opinion, Federer was wrong when he was using dirty language and i personally don't see any cuteness in it. But there is a huge difference between what he did and the way he did it – and what Serena did and the way she did it. And by the way, all i see so far as a "punishment" for Serena is a minor fine and no suspension at all. That is very lenient by any measure.
Nobody here says a single negative word about Venus, by the way. She is a classy person and she deserves everybody's respect.
My biggest concern for what happened is that all the little girls who idolize this woman have now seen how horrible she actually is! She is a complete disgrace to tennis. Did any of you see Rafael Nadal’s interview after Del Potro beat him in the Semi? Well, let me only say that Serena needs to take lessons from this young man. What a gracious, humble and mature young man. I can honestly say that I will not be watching Serena play again, ever! Unless of course I am rooting for her opponent. And one other thing, Venus??? Did you come from a different family??
They are in entertainment business. If you want quiet Sampras, Federer type, good for you. This is why tennis has been a boring sport for the last 20 years. If this happened in baseball, football, basketball, or hockey, this would be a no news.