Serena's meltdown at US Open...roid rage often?
 

Rain gave way to bedlam tonight at the U.S. Open.

Defending champion Serena Williams was charged with a point penalty on match point after yelling at a line judge for a calling a foot fault on her previous serve. The ruling gave Kim Clijsters a 6-4, 7-5 victory in their semifinal match, which had been delayed 32 hours because of rain.

After the line judge called the foot fault with Serena serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, the youngest Williams sister intimidatingly stared her down before screaming at the official with a jabbed finger. After a few seconds, Serena turned back around to serve, thought better of it and resumed the badgering. The chair umpire then called over the line judge to ask what Serena had said, rules officials were summoned, a brief summit occurred at the net and it was determined that Serena would be assessed a point penalty for a conduct violation. The point gave Clijsters the match.

The initial foot fault that began the fireworks was a terrible call. It was unconscionable. It cannot be made at the end of any match, let alone in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. This isn't because a foot fault is a ridiculous call at that juncture (even though it is). It's because it wasn't a foot fault. The replays show that Serena's foot was behind the line when she served. You could make the argument that it was close but not close enough to make the call.

That being said, that's no excuse for Serena to berate an official. Wrong as the official may have been, there's a line that to be crossed and Serena did it pretty early on in her diatribe by saying, "I'm going to shove this ball down your f------ throat".

It got worse from there. There were multiple profanities, more threats and a lot of pointing. Serena was even defending herself against accusations that she had threatened to kill the lines judge. Even John McEnroe said it was a bit much.

The explosive end is sure to obscure the fact that Serena probably would have lost the match without the foot fault. Clijsters was playing great and Serena couldn't win a point on her second serve. The end was coming, Serena's outburst merely hastened its arrival. Maybe that was the point.

I dont understand how she can get around those doping controls.

I have never seen one match of either sister and don't plan to. I am patiently waiting for Steffi Graf to come out of retirement...:D

Here's the vid for some of you who didn't saw it yet: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ty--gslMsVU

And the interview after the game: https://youtube.com/watch?v=t0U6C8AUTRI

I knew it! There was an out of control gorilla that escaped from the zoo! I had no idea that it would take the form of a tennis player for the past 10 years. Well after this incident, everybody knows who the gorilla is and its going right BACK to the zoo!

Why so much hate?

She should have pulled out her gat and put a cap in his ass.

she has nice ass

Good for her. Too many times judges, refs, umpires or other officials think they're god. A good dose of fear of getting the shit beat out of you should make them do their fucking job right.

they should go back to the good ole days when blacks were only allowed to work at country clubs serving the white king, not join the club... :2 cents:

How can a judge from the other side of the court call that play? Fuck her...the chair judge should have said something before it got to that. Even the announcers were saying that.

she'll win many more that judge didnt want to fight :uhoh

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

:error man why you bring race into a damn dispute :Oh crap

Yes indeed.

Was John Mcenroe on steroids too? Just askin'

You have been in Louisiana too long. :2 cents:

I remember when she used to be cute.

Yeah, right. She got eliminated as a result.

Good for her, indeed. :1orglaugh

not too far from the truth, admit it

http://dfuse.us/images/gorilla_woman.jpg
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/20..._300x431,0.jpg

The judge that called the foot fault was right next to her, what are you talking about. Serena said afterwards that she probably DID foot fault and she didn't blame the judge for doing her job. Laughed my ass off, though, when she said in the post-match press conference that she didn't remember what she'd said to the linesman. :1orglaugh Yeah right, ok.

Serena needs to learn to keep her mouth shut and lose with some dignity, rather than making herself look like a dumbass. Though if she hasn't learned that by now, she probably never will.

Side note, I was going to post a thread on this last night after it happened, but then I thought, hmmm, how many posts would it be before a gorilla pic was posted, and decided, eh, skip it. Looks like I was right. :1orglaugh

Yeah but did you think it was going to be a gorilla in a bikini? :1orglaugh

Still time left to make $297.000 on tonights US Open FINAL

http://www.gfy.com/fucking-around-and-business-discussion/927098-297-000-tonights-tennis-match.html
http://www.ebusdk.com/gfx/temp/karoline.jpg

Serena certainly did overreact, but foot faults are one of those things that are so seldom called and probably happen a lot more often than they're called especially in big matches (no big tournament would ever want to see a match decided by a foot fault). If it was back in McEnroe days and McEnroe was called on it, he probably would have beaten the shit out of the woman and gotten warned, lol. Obviously things have come a long way since then and athletes are expected to hide their natural reactions and bite their lip, which is unfortunate for her.

It's not like she wasn't going to lose anyways though, so in the end while it's a crazy finish, I think she ultimately conceded the fact that she wasn't going to win that match the way she was playing regardless of the foot fault and outburst.

Regarding foot faults, I just played in a USTA sanctioned 3.5 level league months ago and it's just us players - there's no way in hell TO call foot faults. After my match one week, I was watching the #1 doubles teams playing and one of the guys on the opposing team kept sliding his foot forward about half a second before hitting the ball...obvious foot fault, and it was EVERY serve. But wtf are we supposed to do - if we WEREN'T watching it wouldn't be called, so it wouldn't seem right to call them on it simply because we happened to be done with our matches first and watching them. Didn't matter anyways because we were beating them, but still. Anyways, that's why I think it happens more often than it's ever called...it's something that I think a lot of people unintentionally do now and then without realizing it because it only takes a very slight foot movement to do.

She sure snapped

This sums up everything ... "Even John McEnroe said it was a bit much" :1orglaugh


.

now THIS is what watching tennis is about, much more entertaining than watching 200 lb freaks :2 cents:

The foot fault call and how often it is or isn't called has nothing to do with it. End result would be the same if she got a called double-fault and reacted that way. She didn't lose because of the foot fault, she lost because she committed unsportsmanlike conduct after the call.

As for McEnroe, he very well may have reacted the same way and would've gotten the unsportsmanlike conduct call as well. And he would've looked like as big a douchebag as Serena looked.

With your own match, unless I'm mistaken, there isn't a damn thing you can do about the other team. A sanctioned official would have to be strolling by and they'd have to make that call against the other team. I could easily be wrong on that, though. I don't play but my wife does.

Come to think of it, McEnroe pretty much always looked like a douchebag.

http://i31.tinypic.com/2zhi73n.jpg

The top female players take too much anabolics nowadays.

they're blood related :winkwink:

Not all of them.

Caroline Wozniacki
http://i32.tinypic.com/szbbqr.jpg

Flavia Panetta
http://i26.tinypic.com/34y4bop.jpg

Vera Zvonareva
http://i28.tinypic.com/2r2qck4.jpg

Jelena Jankovic
http://i31.tinypic.com/2mfewzm.jpg

Ana Ivanovic
http://i25.tinypic.com/t029kz.jpg

Elena Dementieva
http://i26.tinypic.com/155jr6x.jpg

You could probably argue about Dementieva, but I say she's just super fit. And hot.

Anabolics doesn't mean they have to get big muscles...there are so many different ones.

Wow why so much Serena hate? Big fucking deal she lost her cool. Happens to everyone.

I don't hate Serena. She just acted like a spoiled brat while feeding into about 2 dozen different stereotypes (black, roids, ghetto, etc.). And I just heard that she's been fined a bit over $10k onsite, and if the USTA determines it to be a major incident, she faces up to $250k in fines plus a suspension.

This sort of thing doesn't "happen to everyone." In fact, I'd be shocked to ever see Venus pull something like that. She crossed the line in a big way.

I find the sight of her arms slightly terrifying.

Wait...I don't get it. So she lost her cool so she is on roids and is ghetto and whatever other stereotype you (this is not directed at YOU per se more in general) can think of?

Why can't someone just have an off day and lose their cool once without being called some of the names in this thread? ...black, roids, ghetto, etc. ...huh? There is a stereotype for black? ...what? :upsidedow Like plays sports well? Or makes a bunch of money? I dunno?

Plus it was a bullshit call...when you're playing for something this big I am sure you don't want to have it end on something like this...

I play USTA league tennis too. As I recall, the rule is that absent an umpire, the server has to acknowledge whether they think a foot fault occurred if their opponent calls it (in tennis they use an honor system for many calls).

Servers rarely ever admit to foot faulting (since they are usually looking at their service toss, and not at their feet and the service line), however it is good to let the server know that you think they are foot faulting anyway, since if a USTA umpire catches it, they can call it. If you advance to the District championships and beyond, USTA officials are on hand.

Also, if you think someone is repeatedly foot faulting, or making bad calls (calling in balls out, etc), you can ask for line judges (generally one person from each team) to watch the match, and if called upon by any of the players, make the call.

Whether the line judge was correct or not, what Serena Williams said and did is inexcusable in any sport, and in tennis in particular, which has very particular rules of etiquette. I think Serena is a very talented athlete, although I think both she and her sister often demonstrate gamesmanship (taking bathroom breaks at key points, faking/exaggerating injuries, etc) and have prima dona qualities (mostly only playing major tournaments), which takes away from their achievements.

On a happier note, what a great victory for Kim Clijsters tonight in winning the US Open Women's Championship, especially after being back from a 2+ year hiatus during which she gave birth to a daughter. :thumbsup

ADG

Those are not MY personal stereotypes I'm referring to, I'm saying that she fed into many people's personal stereotypes. Here, I guess I have to break it down so I'm not misunderstood...

Some people lose their cool and yell at themselves, or, at worst, smash a racquet. That's one thing.

Other people approach the linesman, pointing their racquet at them, and say something to the effect of "bitch, I'll shove this ball down your fucking throat." (I don't have the exact quote) Then they'll lie about what was said when confronted about it by the head referee, then they'll make light of it in the post-game press conference. That's a totally different thing, that's more than "losing your cool."

Various things there will feed into many people's unfortunate stereotypes. Some people will look at the language and threatening manner, combined with the color of her skin, and it will make them think "Serena sounds like she comes from the ghetto" when the majority of people who live in the ghetto are not confrontational and don't swear and aren't all black.

That's just the sort of thing I'm talking about. People will think what they think, but why give them fodder.

"Bullshit call" makes no difference, the problem is in her reaction, and it was very stupid, juvenile and deserved penalizing.

look at the forehead on the whitechick. Or should i say fivehead.
duke

Time for her to retire.

Wow, the racial and roid remarks are quite stupid in this thread...

gender test would be nice.

I would've told the judge exactly the same!

It was really a no-class move on Serena's part and I hope she eventually comes to terms with it internally. Because I absolutely guarantee you that if a foot-fault was called on her serve FOR THE MATCH, she would have KEPT her cool.

This was a no-class outburst because it stole away the "win" from the better player that night, Kim Clijsters, who was whooping Serena's ass and Serena just hasn't learned to lose with grace and civility.

Kim came into this after time off to have a baby, unseeded, untested on the national scene for a long time. She will be only the third Mother to have won the US Open in history when she wins it (hard to imagine her losing with her game).

$10, 20k fine is nothing for Serena, oh and $500 for abuse of raquet. She has those amounts in every couch cushion. It SHOULD be 200k plus suspension.

Anyone catch Serena on the MTV Video Music Awards introducing Pink last night? She used the spotlight to joke about her outburst the night before, instead of showing any remorsefulness, humility or class.

She would have done better to just ignore the issue and do a straight intro, or to have bowed out of the event altogether... :2 cents:

ADG

Luckily Serena's music video wasn't as good as Taylor Swift's or Beyonce - so Kanye didn't feel the need to interrupt Serena's intro.

Exactly. :thumbsup