09/11/2011 and US Open: Why I am Glad Serena Williams Did Not Win

Tweet

By now, you might have already heard the big news coming out of Sunday’s US Open final. No, not the one about Sam Stosur becoming the first Australian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title in 33 years, but the one about Serena Williams letting loose yet another disturbing outburst toward an on-court official. Two years ago in the same tournament, Serena Williams had to suffer a humiliating loss in the semi-final against Kim Clijsters after threatening to shove a tennis ball down a lineswoman’s throat. This time, Serena Williams’ tirade was certainly less menacing and less expletive-laden, but in my opinion, was every bit as unsportsmanlike and disrespectful as – if not more than – the incident two years ago, or any incident in the history of tennis.

Let us first replay the incident. 2nd Set. 1st Game. Serena was serving, having just lost the first set 2-6. After saving one break point, Serena attempted to save the second one with a forehand winner. The shot was powerful and deep. Sam managed to lay her racket on the ball but could not put it back in the court. A winner for Serena? It would have been if Serena had not bellowed out a loud “Come on!” before the ball even hit the ground. The chair umpire Eva Asderaki of Greece considered Serena’s untimely bellow a hindrance to her opponent’s play and thus awarded the point to Sam Stosur.

Serena went to argue with the umpire, but to no avail. Nevertheless, it was enough to fire up the crowd who started booing the umpire and rallying behind Serena. Amidst the commotion, Sam Stosur quickly lost the next two games.

Serena Williams Come On Hindrance

The incident took an ugly turn during the change-over when Serena sat next to the chair umpire and let out a long tirade.

Serena Williams Change-Over Tirade

First of all, was the umpire’s call correct? To answer that, we have to consult the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Rulebook. On page 111 of the 2011 Rulebook, the following rules regarding hindrance are stated:

H.    HINDRANCE RULE
If a player hinders her opponent, it can be ruled as either involuntary or deliberate.
1.    Involuntary Hindrance
A let should be called the first time a player has created an involuntary hindrance (e.g., ball falling out of pocket, hat falling off, etc.), and the player should be told that any such hindrance thereafter will be ruled deliberate.
2.    Deliberate Hindrance
Any hindrance caused by a player that is ruled deliberate will result in the loss of a point.

Clearly, yelling out in the middle of a point (either by a player, a linesperson or someone in the audience) constitutes a hindrance. Serena herself acknowledged this when she asked for a replay of the point during her initial exchange with the umpire. However, according to the rulebook, a point is replayed in the case of a hindrance only if the hindrance is involuntary. Yelling “Come on!”, which may be unintentional, can hardly be called involuntary. Earlier on in the tournament during the Bartoli-McHale match, Bartoli was in a similar situation when she lost a point for yelling out in the middle of a rally. One could say the call was questionable, especially in a Grand Slam final, but it was definitely not incorrect.

But the correctness of the call was just one aspect of the incident. What really made the incident ugly was Serena’s unsportsmanlike behavior towards the chair umpire during the change-over. Her tirade of abuse started in a benign and high-schoolish way – “If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way.” But it soon turned into a barrage of detestable personal attacks with Serena calling the umpire “out of control”, “a hater”, “a loser” and “unattractive inside”. Why should the chair umpire endure such verbal abuse for making a correct call?

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Serena dropped the bombshell:

“A code violation because I expressed who I am? We’re in America last time I checked.”

Before this match, I, like many other tennis fans, was hoping Serena would win the title. It’s the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It’s the US Open. It’s in New York City. It’s Serena Williams who has dominated women’s tennis in the past decade and who just spent a year away from the tour due to injuries and illnesses. It would be a great comeback story. It would be an uplifting victory.

Maybe Serena felt the pressure too. Maybe she wanted to win this more than anybody else did. Maybe she saw the “9/11/01″ sign on the side of the court. Maybe that’s why she simply “lost it” when a rare call was made at a crucial moment.

But that’s no excuse for behaving the way or saying the things she did.

“A code violation because I expressed who I am? We’re in America last time I checked.”

On a day when people around the world were mourning for the loss that America had experienced in the last 10 years, that was what Serena had to say to millions of tennis fans rooting for her.

The audience in the packed Arthur Ashe Stadium continued to cheer for Serena. Louder and louder. But somehow it no longer felt right. Instead of giving them the victory they longed for and providing them with some sort of catharsis on such an emotional day, Serena Williams – with her bully-like behavior – had turned them into accomplices.

Serena Williams would go on to lose the match. I am glad she did, for I would not have known how to react if she had won. Jeering at her would seem inappropriate and disrespectful given the circumstances: 9/11, US Open, NYC, but cheering for her would seem even more so.

During the post-match press conference, she showed little regret for her on-court behavior. “I don’t remember what I said,” she explained.

One should not forget. Especially on a day like 9.11.11.