Serena Williams wrote a post on globalgrind.com (“The World According to Hip Hop”) on Wednesday with the title: “To Be Honest, I Believe I Reached My Boiling Point.” This is appropriate, as her open letter isn’t so much about the record-setting fine she recieved due to misbehavior at this year’s US Open. It’s more about her releasing a career’s worth of pent up frustration over a number of wrongs she’s endured over the years.
I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Even before the “outburst” at the US Open, Serena’s obviously been on edge. Remember how she threatened Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez when the Spaniard cheated at this year’s French Open? (If not, click here.) Then there was the trash talk about the WTA’s ranking system and the fines she said she’d recieve if she pulled out of tournaments due to injury. I’m sure she wrangled with the WTA quite a bit over the clause in the new Roadmap, that could have penalized her for boycotting Indian Wells. She’s been simmering for so long it was either boil dry or blow her top. She chose the latter. And she paid the price: $92,000.
And now she wants to let off some steam (click here for the original):
As the world seems to know or for those who don’t I want to speak about my recently dubbed “outburst” and how I feel.
“I have recently been fined by the Grand Slam Committee of the ITF (International Tennis Federation) over 82 thousand dollars for getting mad and using the “F-bomb” at a line Judge.
To clear things up FIRST I was NOT fined 82 thousand dollars. I was fined 92 thousand dollars! I paid 10 thousand dollars on site immediately after the U. S. Open. So for the record, I was fined $92,000 not $82,000! The biggest fine EVER in tennis.”
To clarify some more, according to the Washington Post, Serena Williams was fined a total of $175,000, including the $10,000 she paid at the tournament. The final amount was halved, assuming she doesn’t have another melt down. Serena could have received up to $1 million in penalties according to the sport’s code of conduct and/or have been banned from one or more Major tournaments. Serena earned $350,000 for making it to the US Open singles semifinals and an additional $420,000 with her sister for winning the doubles championship. The current fine is just over 1% of her record-making $6.5 million in prize money this year. (Click here for more, including Serena’s official statement.)
Moving on – Serena writes that the foot-fault-calling lines judge “understood” her emotions and was “extremely supportive” of her after the incident:
Also for all those that don’t know, I felt incredibly bad, and miserable for losing my cool, and most importantly not representing the person I really am spiritually and the role model I want to be to my young fans. I have been a very feisty player all my life, but when the time came for me to be calm and cool, I did not exercise a mild temper. How I regret not being a better role model and person to all of my fans. I apologized to my fans and even wrote a personal letter to the lines woman with my apologies. She understood as she often witnesses this as it is not uncommon in my sport, or any other sport. She was extremely supportive and said that she did not think any further actions should be taken against me.
Now we get to what this letter is really about - the 2004 US Open quarterfinal that Serena lost to Jennifer Capriati after suffering a number of horrendous line calls. Serena is obviously still really pissed off about it:
A few years ago in a most important match being watched my millions; I was blatantly cheated and robbed of a US Open title by yet another official. I was again on the wrong side of not one or two, but several other bad calls. This incident however changed tennis. Because of what was incorrectly done to me, the whole sport of tennis adapted new technology for a player to challenge the calls lines persons make if the player feels they were wronged. I was expected to take solace in the fact even though I lost the U.S Open title (a dream I’ve been working for since I was 2 years old). At least others won’t be wronged in the future. I am always happy for the next person. I always am. I received apologies from the USTA, the Lines Official, and the Head of the US Open. However I don’t recall EVER receiving a note, a phone call, a letter even a text from anyone at the Grand Slam Committee ITF apologizing about the wrong and disastrous call one of THEIR officials made.
And Serena’s still mad about Indian Wells, too, where she was savagely booed in 2001 while playing Kim Clijsters (hmmm) in the final:
When I was a teenager I was booed by an entire packed stadium at Indian Wells. In my new book “On the Line” [pitch alert!] I talk about how I remember crying on every changeover in the towel. Praying and wishing I could lose and the match would just be done with. When the match was over I thanked the crowd those that cheered for me, and even those that did not. Looking back I am still amazed how I remained so calm and positive, and even managed to come out on top.
Serena brings up another point: when a player screws up, she gets a fine and a lot of public humiliation. When an official messes up - arguably costing the player a major title, a heap of prize money and even a childhood dream – all the player gets is an apology:
The fact is every professional athlete gets wronged in one way or another. And every athlete gets upset. We have been working, sacrificing, missing out on numerous things, things we will never get back or experience for the sake of our careers. For the sake of that one moment in time where we have a chance to shine through.
Imagine for 20 years working day in, day out, sacrificing on countless things to get this job, that will make all your hard work and endless efforts worthwhile. Try to imagine having that promotion in one moment being taken away from you because of a slight over sight, by someone overseeing your work. 20 years gone away. Time to start over, dust yourself off and try again. You work harder make positive changes. It happens again.
“Dust yourself off” you say. “Try again”
You do just that. You work even harder than before, spend longer hours. Then it happens yet again. Another slight oversight.
Serena doesn’t say that there’s a conspiracy against her, she just admits that she’s wondered about it:
Well this is what happened to me, and to be honest I believe I reached my boiling point. After yet ANOTHER wrong call I began to wonder- Was I being “overlooked” or wrongly judged on purpose!??? Is this being done to keep me from achieving my best? Why does this keep happening at the same place?
Conspiracy theories aside, I’d argue that in this particular case, the call really didn’t cost Serena the match. A point penalty technically did her in, not to mention Clijsters’s killer game. But the letter isn’t really concerned about these technicalities. This is a first-class vent, not a legal document:
Throughout my career I have remained calm. But I guess I finally reached my breaking point. A point I should have never allowed myself to get to. Everything seemed to have surfaced. As you know, losing my cool cost me over 92 thousand dollars. 92 thousand dollars! This is more than most people make in a year. 92 thousand dollars!
And $17,000 more than what she spent redecorating her house! (click here)
Serena then launches into a provocative argument re: sexism and fines.
Answer this: Why is it another player who also lost HIS cool not to a line judge – like I did – but to the main officiating judge- using the same “f word” why was HE only fined 10 thousand dollars. Was what I did 10 times worse than what he did?!
Who is she talking about? At first I thought it was Federer, for telling off Jake Garner in the final, but he was only fined $1,500.
There is another HE who was fined less than half of what I was fined after someone in his camp actually physically ATTACKED an official!!!!
That HE is Jeff Tarango, of course, who was fined $63,000 and banned from two Major tournaments by the ITF after walking off the court at Wimbledon in protest of what he saw as “corrupt” officiating. (His wife at the time slapped the offending the chair umpire in the face.)
What about the famous HE who made arguing with officials “cool”. Cool for “MEN” I guess.
Is it because they are all HE’s and not a SHE like me?
All in good time, Serena. John McEnroe was called McBrat for a reason – and not because people liked him. I’m sure someday you, too, will be doing your own slightly pathetic reenactment of your “I’d take this ball and. . .” catchphrase in front of a crowd of old fogies at some Cancun resort.
Then Serena brings the 1st amendment into it – so wait, is she writing a brief?
It is indeed a massive difference. Being American I guess the 1st amendment, freedom of speech, does not apply to a SHE in this case? In any event the Grand Slam Committee, ITF and its staff did not hesitate to call, send a note, text, nor write letters after this incident. Ironic is it not?
I don’t mind being fined. If I did wrong I accept the repercussions. All I ask for is to be treated equal.
Now this is a sticky subject that raises many difficult questions: By what standard is Serena being measured? When does cussing out an official go from a $1,500 fine in Roger Federer’s case to $175,000 in Serena’s case – the full amount she’ll be fined if she commits another “major offense” in the next two years? Is it a tone of voice, is it timing, is it gestures more than words? Is it a threat, however rhetorical, instead of an insult, however crude? (Jimbo’s “you’re an abortion” comes to mind.) And what constitutes a “major offense”, anyway? Bill Babcock of the Grand Slam Committee says that it’s any conduct deemed to be “aggravated behavior” or “conduct detrimental to the game.” In other words, you know it when you see it. So it’s subjective – and unlike Hawkeye you can’t measure the margin of error in millimeters.
But I think what we have to remember is that Serena wasn’t defaulted – she lost the match due to a point penalty (she’d earned a warning for smashing her racquet earlier in the match.) No matter what her sex, faith, race or creed, what she did definitely deserved a point penalty. But again, Serena’s letter is about much more than a single point – in the score or in time – it is about the entirety of Serena Williams’s life in tennis. She has a point to make and some scores to settle. It’s personal.
Serena tries to end her screed on a positive note:
When I was fined the 92K, I asked to see if I could donate some of it to different schools, and programs I’m involved in. My request was denied. So, I decided to match the fine by raising money and donating an additional 92K to my 2nd school that I am opening up in Africa, as well as to schools that I am helping here in the United States. I also want to educate women about what I learned from this whole experience. How we as women are still treated as less than equal. I am going to turn this 92K into a positive!!! And I have decided to call it Serena’s 92K mission!!! Go to Serenawilliams.com to learn more about my 92K mission.
Mission? As in Mission Skincare? Sorry, that was too easy. No, Serena’s actually raising money for the Serena Williams Foundation. I’m sure you’ll get a Tweet about it soon. Or click here to visit her website.
So what do you think of all this? I’d do a poll but it’s just too damn complicated. I just hope that Serena feels a little better.
Tags: Serena, tennis, WTA
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She should be happy she got off the hook soo easily but apparently her ego is too big to see that. It’s ridiculous that after all that she has the arrogance to throw herself this pity party. Her article is self-justifying and awkward. Apparently Serena has a very bad memory (or is she just lying maybe..?) when she mentions several male players and their punisments. First, their incidents occured long time ago and at that point their fines meant much more to them as their earnings weren’t so high as those of today’s tennis stars. AND they got a ban! She was let to get away with it and was allowed to enter Doha and win big money. Her complaining about the amount she was fined is just awkward. She earned the most in price money ever in 2009. THe fine is like a drop in the ocean for her.
Having seen her post-match press conference I have understood what kind of shallow self-absorbed person she is and this is just gives another proof of that. All she can do is making herself look like a victim and badmouth the others.
If Serena wasn’t worth millions, I might take her indignation over the amount of the fine more seriously. And as for Tarango — would she have preferred to have had a smaller fine and been banned from two majors?
She is all over the place here. I think to make a convincing argument, she needs to take one grievance and stick to it. Here we have so many excuses — the officials are against me, other people do it too, it’s because I’m a woman, the fine is too big, I apologized to the linesperson, and so on. It diminishes all her arguments, because you get the impression that underlying every complaint is a massive ego.
Yes, atheletes get shafted sometimes by the officials. But the mature ones learn to accept that fact and move on. It’s not like Serena never had another chance to win the US Open. I guess I find her anger and inability to accept fault very distasteful.
In this response, as in her alleged “apology” to the line judge, I have never seen so many “I”s, “me”s, “mine”s. The offense is not about “her”…it is about the humiliation she caused another human being, albeit a tennis official.
I agree with Liz. I find her inability to accept fault very distasteful, narcissistic and INCREDIBLY immature for a “professional”, not for a kindergarten student, though!
Liz’s last statement was fine until the last two sentences.
Mature athletes do learn to accept that the officials aren’t perfect and move on, but to say that Serena should discount a missed chance to win the USOpen is dismissive. In my opinion, you would never find an athlete (professional or amateur) who wouldn’t feel outrage if the officiating cost them a title or a chance at it. It’s their profession and what they train for almost all their lives. Imagine if a no goal call cost a hockey team the Stanley Cup. Righteous indignation and outrage would be the headlines on all major news and sports outlets.
Does Serena whine in the article? Of course she does. She feels beseiged and singled out. The French Open incident, the Capriati match and this latest USOpen match all feature officiating that was in some cases clearly suspect and to her detriment. I agree that the Indian Wells situation doesn’t fall in with the ‘bad officiating’ argument but it’s Serena’s way of venting her outrage at what she perceives as unfair treatment.
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!
i kind of feel like the reason she wrote this, was because of the 92k!!! fine. that, after all the crap she’s gone through, THIS
got cut off. :/
anyway. to continue, it seems like her ~record-breaking~ fine is the thing that prompted her to write this rant. she may say that she’s angry because she feels she’s not being treated equally, of which the 92k fine is evidence, but to me, it just seems like she thinks 92k is too high, period. like, even if another, *male* player had gotten a higher fine, she would’ve still complained because it’s 92k. i don’t know, but she seems very money-driven, money-hungry to me.
and serena really, really needs to realise that she seemingly gets more criticism than male players who behave the same way on-court, because part of that criticism is also driven by disapproval of her off-court comments and behaviour. i mean, she pissed a lot of people off with her “real #1″ talk, and of course, when you do what she did at the USO, you’ll get treated a bit more harshly than other players.
on one hand i appreciate her honesty, especially if she feels she has been wronged in the past. officials, players and fans are not perfect and can make mistakes, but you have to move on and appreciate what you have accomplished in a stellar career. maybe focus on what you can do to improve your legacy, be a better example to fans and children, both with your achievements and how you conduct yourself in public. she was the 2nd most searched for tennis player (i believe on google) this year, after roger. what she does (good or bad) is out there for millions to see. it comes with the territory. i think she has diminished her tennis greatness by her lack of grace in certain moments.
serena may be a champion, but her attitude, conduct and comments on and off court speak volumes about the person she is. she has earned her prize money and titles, but she has not shown the best side of herself at times. i also don’t pity someone complaining several times about the amount of the fine when they earn millions and won the doubles title and prize money soon after the uso tirade. it wasn’t simply the use of f-bombs, it was the way in which she threatened the lines person with actions and vulgar words, in front of millions.
kim clijsters also got screwed a bit with the strange outcome of that semi. she didn’t get to fully shine when she was absolutely winning that match. part of serena’s frustration may have included the fact that mama kim, in just her 3rd tourny back was outplaying her. thank god kim went on to win the title. it was the most fitting end.
well said judy.
I have lost total respect for Serena. I can forgive her for losing her temper, but this “rant” of hers is just ridiculously embarrassing. People in this world have real problems feeding their families, losing loved ones, etc… And she’s carrying on about bad line calls and justifying herself by throwing others under the bus. I hope she feels better, but would I want my daughter to be like her? No. She’s a great athlete but a bad sport.
I agree with those that call it an unfocused argument. That’s why it qualifies as a flat our rant.
Honestly, I do hope it makes her feel better. I think she’s been struggling all year to keep her emotions in check and maybe this is what she needed to get calm.
I think the fine has shown her there are boundaries. I think she will keep her cool a bit better from now on because of the probation. I don’t think if will change her persona dramatically, she will always run her mouth when there is an opportunity. Her stardom has got to her head big time and she was, is and will be paying for it by losing her fans and the last bits of her reputation.
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.
Read more: http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/12/10/vent-serena-williams-reaches-her-boiling-point-over-us-open-fines/#comments#ixzz0ZJyS8VNC
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.
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…
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.
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!
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!
I apologise for spelling Pamala Knight’s name wrong in my entry above. It is Pamala, & not ‘Pamela’. Quite a nice & unique name Pamala.
Liz, sorry about that Carolina situation
. Tough love, right?
Mary, no need to apologize for the spelling–I knew you meant me, lol. Thanks.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.