Serena Williams

[hogesar 9,666]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/45467715

What are peoples thoughts? 

I can''t believe the WTA have backed the sexism angle. Whilst there may be elements of sexism in tennis it doesn''t apply to this and makes a mockery of actual claims.

Serena broke the rules. The umpire had little choice. Whilst Serena should be apologising to both the winner and the umpire she''s instead getting support from those within tennis.

Bizarre world.

[Nuff Said 5,137]

Isn’t the point that she was dealt with differently to the way a male tennis player would be? On top of other similar behaviour.

The rule breaking is irrelevant, what’s sexist is the way it was dealt with.

[Guest]

I''m not a tennis follower but heard on some news sources that the umpire in question deals with males and females by the strict letter of the law.

I suppose they had to use the sexism route as racism didn''t come into it considering her opponent.

I do find these petulant "stars/celebrities" are doing the real people who face sexism/racism, no favours at all.

[TIL 1010 4,743]

Not following this that closely but i thought i saw on Sky News last night that she had already been docked a point in this match for breach of rules and then went on and had this verbal rant towards the umpire who had no option but to award a game against her ?

[ec-p 90]

I watched it live and couldn’t believe the events that unfolded. The behaviour of Williams and the partisan crowd was a disgrace and ruined a young girl’s moment of victory. The umpire acted within the rules on this occasion.

The issue about sexism within sport is a valid one but imo in this instance this wasn’t the case. Sadly this seems a smokescreen by Williams to divert from her abysmal behaviour, not to mention her performance, as Osaka was beating her soundly before it all kicked off.

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Nuff Said"]Isn’t the point that she was dealt with differently to the way a male tennis player would be? On top of other similar behaviour.

The rule breaking is irrelevant, what’s sexist is the way it was dealt with.[/quote]

The umpire had treated the situation correctly and she couldn''t handle it - she called the umpire a thief. Bringing sexism into it is just ridiculous because male or female, if you call someone a thief, that is a violation.  If it hadn''t been a final, I think the umpire would have defaulted her at that point.

There may be some sexism in tennis, but calling it out in this situation when she was the one totally in the wrong was just trying to deflect from her misdemeanour.  There is a strict code violation in tennis and was treated correctly by a good umpire. Williams basically couldn''t handle being outplayed by her opponent.  Her tennis has always been based on intimidating oppoenents and when that wasn''t working, she tried to intimidate the wrong person - an umpire who was just doing his job - and doing it correctly.

Sexism?  Rubbish.

[KeiranShikari_2 0]

Tennis is sexist imo. Women play less sets at a lower quality, earn less money for the tour and still get equal prize money.

[Guest]

Nuff Said, that''s the implied point but I don''t think it''s true.

I can think of several examples off the top of my head where male players have been severely punished for repeated bad behaviour, and I find it very disappointing that Williams would rather play the sexism card than apologise.

E.g. Kyrigos 3-month ban for swearing/lack of effort, Jeff Tarango defaulted for outburst against umpire, Shapovalov defaulted for accidentally hitting umpire with ball, Henman defaulted for accidentally hitting a ball girl with a ball.

I don''t think it''s at all fair to say this was a sexist incident when the umpire in question has also handed out code violations to Murray/Djokovic previously for similar behaviour. Whether you think he''s a bit of a prima-donna and too tight with the rules is one thing; the fact he seems to have applied them consistently regardless of the sex of the player is the point surely.

Let''s not forget that tennis is one of the very few sports where prize money is the same at major events for both sexes, regardless of the number of games played or the crowd appeal.

[BobLoz3 492]

There are certainly examples of men saying worse things to umpires in tennis and they haven''t had a game taken from them.I don''t know if us lot, a bunch of guys on a forum about football are really that qualified to know or say anything on sexsim in tennis. I''m sure those that are in it see a lot more than we do.So, perhaps this example shouldn''t be taken as sexist but there must be something boiling under the surface for it to have come out in this way.Remember, just a couple weeks back Alize Cornet received a code violation for changing her shirt on court. Guys can do this without any problem or repurcussions.Some of us might think it seems a bit silly, but for a woman it is likely very real and hurtful.

[ricardo 7,385]

Got what she deserved.

[Rock The Boat 1,330]

I read that Serena Williams is the highest paid female athlete in the world. It is beyond belief that she should resort to playing the victim card. She was being beaten fairly and squarely and stole the Japanese girl''s moment of victory.

[Van wink 2,994]

Some people get angry when they are caught cheating, they deserve to be penalised not idolised.

[......and Smith must score. 1,343]

She''s so far up her own a*se it''s untrue.

Problem is her and her sister have been successful for so long she''s developed the diva syndrome and can''t take losing. The sensible optionwould''ve been to have hung up her racket when she had the baby.

History shows that professional sportsmen especially those engaged in solitary sports, both male and female, decline when the distraction of children comes along.

[Thirsty Lizard 3,163]

Great sportsmen/sportswomen win AND lose with dignity.

[Mason 47 1,379]

The whole situation is a bit surreal.

Essentially, I think Williams has found out that time catches up to us all and she''s handled it particularly poorly in this case. It was herself that actually brought the subject of gender into the debate, shouting at the umpire ''I have a daughter, I have never cheated in my life'' as if that fact proof of purity. I know as many terrible people, that also happen to be mothers, as I do those that are nice. If you actually read the full transcript she seems to pluck the sexism angle out of thin air when she refers herself to the tournament referees.

The 3 violations for receiving coaching, which her coach has literally admitted was exactly what he was going on (perhaps he is in cahoots with the misogynist Illuminati here too), smashing her racket and then hurling dogs'' abuse at the umpire when it wasn''t going her way are all clean cut and punishable. By all accounts she told the umpire ''you will never, ever be on another court of mine'' which is spectacularly arrogant, and reflects an attitude of being above the game.

Many arguments in favour are citing players such as Nastase and McInroe as indicators of the double standard, but if we''re all going to be judged by the standards of male athletes from the 70s and 80s, well, we''re all damned.

[AJ 1,218]

The main reason they are annoyed is because they got a penalty because the umpire decided her coach was ''coaching'' her during play which is not allowed. Every single coach since the beginning of time does this, so felt like they were just being made an example of. Should have just dropped it and moved on but she didn''t. She let it get to her head, simple as that.

I can''t see how anything in this situation is sexist, she messed up and got punished for it. Would have been the same if she was male. The biggest shame is that her opponent deserved to win and probably would have done regardless of what happened, which is a shame as her first slam win is overcast by controversy.

[pete 319]

Funny she had this rant after losing first set and being broken back in second set looking as if was likely to lose in 2. Coach admits coaching Serena, not an appropriate name there methinks.

[Jim Smith 2,317]

I think he behaviour was appalling and I think trying to claim sexism after the event to distract from that or in some way justify it is equally appalling.

The only point that perhaps has a bit of merit is whether its fair for a player to be punished for "coaching" if they have no control over whether their coach tries to "coach" them from the stands but even there the umpire was correct in terms of calling it out. Then she smashed her racket (fair punishment) and called the umpire a cheat and a thief which is completely out of order. Deserved the punishment she got and in fact deserves a large fine as well. If you said that to an official/umpire in any other sport you would definitely get a suspension.

[Rock The Boat 1,330]

The coaching thing could easily be resolved by sending the coach out of the stands for the duration of the match, perhaps after a first warning.

[Jim Smith 2,317]

Reading that BBC article and the quotes from past and present female players it dismays me that they don;t seem to get it, especially Marion Bartolli saying its "unacceptable" because Williams didn''t curse.

It is completely and utterly unacceptable for a player to call an umpire or referee a cheat and a thief like that. Them saying "she was a bit wrong but she''s got a point" is doing nobody any favours. I''m sure the male players do not regularly say that sort of thing to umpires without sanction.

[BobLoz3 492]

The point is not necessarily what she did but if there''s sexism in tennis.If someone like Billie Jean King is coming out and saying it''s good that Serena is drawing attention to it perhaps, as I insinuated earlier, there is something more bubbling under the surface.

[Canary Wundaboy 1,359]

Utter rubbish to play the sexism card, Umpire is well within the rules and she was just throwing her toys out of the pram. My thoughts to the Japanese player who had her first moment of history ruined by Serena''s selfish antics, I hope she gets more opportunities.

[Jools 584]

[quote user="Rock The Boat"]I read that Serena Williams is the highest paid female athlete in the world. It is beyond belief that she should resort to playing the victim card. She was being beaten fairly and squarely and stole the Japanese girl''s moment of victory.[/quote]

Aye - she may have lost a step or two on the court, but her victim reflex is as fast as ever [:|]

[Jim Smith 2,317]

[quote user="BobLoz3"]The point is not necessarily what she did but if there''s sexism in tennis.If someone like Billie Jean King is coming out and saying it''s good that Serena is drawing attention to it perhaps, as I insinuated earlier, there is something more bubbling under the surface.[/quote]

There may or may not be a valid dispute about whether sexism exists in tennis but using it to deflect from/excuse her awful behaviour devalues that cause. This had nothing to do with sexism, Serena has history of some pretty poor outbursts and of taking very unpleasantly to people /court staff she clearly does not feel are her equal.

[cornish sam 953]

Not much to add other than I agree, there is almost certainly a level of sexism in tennis, but this wasn''t an example of it, just as the French lass getting reprimanded for taking her top of wasn''t. She changed her shirt at the back of the court, a male player would also get reprimanded for that as you are only allowed to change clothing on your seat or somewhere discrete with permission. Even she acknowledged this and said it wasn''t in anyway sexist...

[Yellowbeagle 0]

I thought sexism was meant to be about equal opportunity not an excuse to have as bad disrespecting behaviour as worst behaving male players. The sexism was a cheap shot because she lost and got what she deserved. The male players should be dealt with as firmly as she got dealt with, but for me that doesn''t make her correct to behave in the way she did. She could have set the standard of behaviour then after the game raised the point publicly, but she chose to try and intimidate the official, because she couldn''t take losing.

[Block Y Seat 176 80]

I think her gamesmanship in winding up the partisan crowd backfied on her, even after the end of the match they were still baying for blood. Coach should have been sent out of the arena, considering it was a showpiece match, a final warning for disent and then punished with loss of game if she continued.

Hope they look at the rule book at end of season and work out if it should be  zero tolerance for both sexes for all breaches of rules in the future. That should work.

[93vintage 16]

Look at the size of the lass. She ought to be in the ring with Anthony Joshua instead of giving that umpire grief.

[Haggerdoo 6]

A poor loser just like Lewis Hamilton - all smiles when they win but throw the toys out and quick to blame others when it doesn''t go their way

[FenwayFrank 2,459]

I love the way she screams “ I’ve got a daughter !! “ like no other woman in the world has had a baby 😀