Arguing with officials is nothing new in tennis.
John McEnroe in his day was, arguably, the king of on-court discrepancies. Not to be forgotten is Ilie Nastase's 18-minute boycott during the 1979 U.S. Open disputing a line call by the chair umpire. The tradition continues today with Andy Roddick, whose no slacker at giving a linesperson what for.
But what transpired Saturday night at the U.S. Open women's semi-final between Serena Williams and an U.S. Open official has taken things to a new level. Regardless of the validity of the call that claimed Serena made a foot fault, Williams' 10-second berating of the official goes beyond the realm of poor conduct.
"I swear to God I'm (expletive) going to take this (expletive) ball and shove it down your (expletive) throat, you hear that? I swear to God," Williams said to the official.
The context: Kim Clijsters lead Serena one set to love, with Serena serving at 15-30 in the second to send the set into a tiebreaker. Serena lost her temper after the lineswoman called a foot fault, resulting in a double-fault. That moved Clijsters one point from victory. Williams then was penalized a point for a second outburst towards the linesperson. Because it happened to come on match point, it ended the semifinal with Clijsters winning 6-4, 7-5.
Williams was fined $10,000 Sunday for unsportsmanlike conduct and could face further penalties -- including a higher fine and a possible suspension -- for what U.S. Open tournament director Jim Curley described as her "threatening manner."
After what I'm sure was a good deal of pressure from her team and corporate sponsors, Serena issued this amendment on Monday to her previous press release:
Hey guys!!!
I want to amend my press statement of yesterday, and want to make it clear as possible — I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lines woman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA, and tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst. I’m a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I’m wrong.
I need to make it clear to all young people that I handled myself inappropriately and it’s not the way to act — win or lose, good call or bad call, in any sport, in any manner.
I like to lead by example. We all learn from experiences both good and bad. I will learn and grow from this, and be a better person as a result.
Xxxx,
S
Although she has finally and offically apologized, her behavior begs the question, "Should Serena be suspended from professional tennis for her unsportsmanlike conduct?"
Suspended? Good God no. Her conduct was nothing new. Fiery athletes do it all the time. MLB managers would make you blush with the things they say to umpires. What Venus did was no worse than what McEnroe did about a billion times.
Personally, I'm glad that a money-up-to-her-eyeballs athlete shows a heck of a lot of passion for winning a tournament she's already won three times. She probably shouldn't have told the line judge she'd make her choke on a tennis ball, but that's why she got the penalty point and the fine. That's plenty.