Love, Balls and Courting: Tennis V

[gk_891]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the bolded sentence.

Serena always behaves like an entitled brat (like her BFF Wozniacki). And to bring her daughter into it... just pathetic. She has done this several times now, why is it always when she loses?

This also bothers me as well. Apparently the rules shouldn't be applied to her because she's a mother?!?!

 

[oleada]

My issue is not with Serena who was magnanimous and gracious in defeat. Any members of a crowd that boos at an award ceremony for athletes (no excuses where you are from ) just have a lack of respect.

As a New Yorker, I totally agree. The booing was embarrassing and shameful. It makes us look bad as hosts.

 

[gk_891]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/09/...rticle&region=Footer&contentCollection=Sports

There's also this as well. This also throws a wrench into the argument that what Ramos did yesterday was because Serena is a woman.

 

[Bellanca]

“I know that everyone was cheering for her,” Osaka told the crowd, “and I’m sorry it had to end like this.” To which I would reply, “not everyone, Naomi!” I’m extremely happy for Naomi Osaka and overjoyed that she won!

It’s too bad Serena Williams cannot control her temper when it would be most advantageous for her to do so. The fact that Serena felt the need to excuse it away with charges of sexism and whatever else crossed her mind at that moment, was very unfortunate, and although it probably wasn’t meant to be an attention-getting stunt, (as if Serena needs more attention), like this: (Disclaimer: Profanity) John McEnroe’s angry outbursts... The Serena show certainly felt and looked a lot like a John McEnroe-like temperamental outburst.

McEnroe’s meltdowns were legendary, F-bomb, profanity-filled, demonstrative, emotional exchanges with umpires, etc. sans the charges of sexism, of course. There are plenty of videos of vintage John McEnroe meltdowns available on YouTube.

At the time, there was a strong suspicion that John was acting out and melting down to separate himself from the pack which obviously worked. Years later, McEnroe did admit he was exaggerating his on-court antics which became quite predictable and expected.

As far as Serena is concerned, she should really consider finding a more constructive, less controversial, less embarrassing outlet for purging her frustrations at an umpire or whatever else gets under her skin, than engaging in a complete and total match disrupting meltdown resulting in leaving her opponent in tears and a viewing audience mortified and disgusted. Serena’s “antics” were not funny or humorous in the least… Maybe that is what she should have aimed for, instead.

 

[gk_891]

It’s too bad Serena Williams cannot control her temper when it would be most advantageous for her to do so. The fact that Serena felt the need to excuse it away with charges of sexism and whatever else crossed her mind at that moment, was very unfortunate

It's more than unfortunate, it's extremely disappointing. I've been a Serena fan since 1999 and I've continued to be her fan through thick and thin in spite of her behaviour at the 2009 and 2011 U.S Open. But some of the things that she said yesterday has really made me question my devotion to her. Not only did she fail to behave like a professional yet again but unfairly accusing Ramos of sexism when he umpired the match the exact same way he always did, as well as acting like she shouldn't be warned of anything untoward because she's a mother was all just really low on her part.

I'm sure Serena could hardly care that someone like me might stop being her fan. But I think I might stop cheering for her from now on.

 

[Lorac]

This disgusts me - I hope Naomi realises it is only a small disturbed minority saying this. And all those who blame Ramos for this really are pathetic. Serena needs to apologise to both Naomi and Carlos Ramos - but she has set herself up as this paragon of feminist equality in regards to this issue and it is clear Serena is just about herself. And her fine was $17,000 which is nothing to her and does not cover the damage she has inflicted on Ramos's career as well as Naomi's sanity!!

https://twitter.com/spacepirate16/status/1038813105374023682

 

[gk_891]

This disgusts me - I hope Naomi realises it is only a small disturbed minority saying this. And all those who blame Ramos for this really are pathetic. Serena needs to apologise to both Naomi and Carlos Ramos - but she has set herself up as this paragon of feminist equality in regards to this issue and it is clear Serena is just about herself. And her fine was $17,000 which is nothing to her and does not cover the damage she has inflicted on Ramos's career as well as Naomi's sanity!!

https://twitter.com/spacepirate16/status/1038813105374023682

Oh boy. The damage that Serena's outburst caused is really going deep. I too hope that Naomi is able to take this in stride and ignore those trolls.

 

[mollymgr]

Here is an article about her fines.
https://www.npr.org/2018/09/08/6459...upset-after-serena-williams-gets-game-penalty
Ramos does give out violations to the guys too, so to say he is sexist is ridiculous. Stop being unruly or waste time, this umpire doesn't like it.
http://larrybrownsports.com/tennis/...istory-code-violations-serena-williams/463180
Like I said before, this kind of outburst only serves to stop an opponent's momentum and it wasn't about women's equality and all this BS Serena is claiming. If it was someone who would have been rattled by the chaos that was caused, the match could have easily turned around and Serena would have won. I give Naomi major props for staying calm after all the drama playing out on center court.

 

[oleada]

Oh boy. The damage that Serena's outburst caused is really going deep. I too hope that Naomi is able to take this in stride and ignore those trolls.

That is absolutely disgusting. Naomi was in complete control of the match when it happened. And, it's not even the first time she beats Serena this year.

 

[DBZ]

My issue is not with Serena who was magnanimous and gracious in defeat.

Seriously? Magnanimous and gracious?

That's what gets my goat about this whole incident.

It was all Serena's doing. Every bit.

She initiated it, she escalated it, she prolonged it, and at any point had the complete power to end it--but she didn't.

It was drama completely and utterly of her own making.

And now we're supposed to admire her for being gracious in the face of a "controversy" that she was totally responsible for manufacturing in the first place?

Meanwhile, Noami Osaka--the real victim in all this--now has to deal with the direct repercussions of someone else's selfish actions.

At best, her win has been overshadowed, at worst it's being delegitimized--all because someone else couldn't control their temper and stay focused on playing tennis.

And yet...Serena comes out looking like a hero, for basically throwing a tantrum, making the moment all about herself, and ruining what could have been a great match.

What F-ed up, twilight zone logic is this?

 

[Fan123]

Williams was looking to win her 24th Grand Slam singles title, which would have tied her with Australia's Margaret Court for the all-time record. Williams lost after receiving multiple penalties from Chair Umpire Carlos Ramos — including a point penalty for breaking her racket, and then a game penalty for arguing with Ramos and calling him a "thief."

The game penalty came as a culmination of an on-going argument between Williams and Ramos. Earlier in the match, Ramos handed down a warning for coaching following hand gestures from Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

What really gets me is the fake news and narrative by some media claiming Serena was singled out cuz she’s a woman, mother, etc. when it was all her own doing. For the record, she was NOT given a game penalty simply by calling Ramos a “thief”, it was a culmination on an on-going argument between her and Ramos, with 2 previous code violations, as explained in the article. Had she not received coaching and smashed her racquet, the game penalty would not had been issued. Unfortunately, you wouldn’t know that from reading the comments by Christine Brennan and Billie Jean King.

 

[tony]

To be fair (which is ridiculous anyways), whether Naomi won without drama or not, the trolls would sure be out making sure she felt like she didn't deserve it. We all know people are pathetic and really love running their mouths while hiding behind comment sections of the Internet.

And yet...Serena comes out looking like a hero, for basically throwing a tantrum, making the moment all about herself, and ruining what could have been a great match.

I've never understood why people who are completely out of line use a hardship or character trait in one way or another to explain why it's not fair that they are being singled out/penalized/criticized/whatever. I get that there is a lot of hatred towards people in the world and that's what causes these attitudes in the first place, but there's not always a 'get out of jail' card if your behavior is simply wrong.

 

[DBZ]

I've never understood why people who are completely out of line use a hardship in one way or another to explain why it's not fair that they are being singled out/penalized/criticized/whatever.

They all took Dorothy Lanier's class, I suppose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG6MtE-PjKY

I believe Serena mighty've taken the master class.

 

[skatesindreams]

I hope that the Men's final will be a more positive match; whatever the outcome.

 

[Lorac]

I hope that the Men's final will be a more positive match; whatever the outcome.

Agreed - and I do hope Del Potro takes it - Djokovic already has a GS after returning from a bad injury so Del Po needs to get a 2nd one!! He is too good a player to only have one GS title!!

 

[gk_891]

The more I think about what happened yesterday, the more respect for Serena I lose. Because while sexism and racism are indeed absolutely reprehensible, baseless and false accusations are equally as bad. I'm glad Serena got fined although I think the fine should've been much bigger.

I do have some hope that maybe Serena will regret what happened yesterday and issue an apology to both Naomi and Carlos. I have my doubts that will happen though.

 

[becca]

Serena should take responsibility for her own actions because she did have plenty of warnings. The crowd was inexcusable though and at least Serena asked them to stop. Serena needs to take responsibility for her own actions but the crowd should be ashamed of themselves.

Ridiculous for Naomi to have to apologize but hopefully she will get a ton of endorsements and attention in Japan.

 

[gk_891]

What really gets me is the fake news and narrative by some media claiming Serena was singled out cuz she’s a woman, mother, etc. when it was all her own doing. For the record, she was NOT given a game penalty simply by calling Ramos a “thief”, it was a culmination on an on-going argument between her and Ramos, with 2 previous code violations, as explained in the article. Had she not received coaching and smashed her racquet, the game penalty would not had been issued. You wouldn’t know that from reading the comments by Christine Brennan and Billie Jean King.

Selective reporting. I bet they will ignore the fact that Ramos has been consistently strict with all players that he's umpired, both male and female.

 

[Cachoo]

I thought Serena made a mistake, I thought Osaka was magnificent and I thought Sally Jenkin's column about Ramos and his mistake was spot-on.

 

[tony]

Rewatching all of the clips from yesterday during the commercial breaks and there's a lot that I noticed- first, Naomi said multiple times in her press conference that she really had no idea what was going on and why the points/game were given to her. She knew that Serena was saying something to Ramos, but she had no idea what it was about and she wasn't watching because she was trying to stay focused. So, go back to the awards presentation and the booing - at that point, Naomi must have really thought that, more or less, the crowd really was booing the fact that she won. It's just heartbreaking to see, 30 seconds into it, that she has to put her visor over her face, during her moment, next to someone she so obviously idolizes.

Second thing is that Serena's body language was that of disgust at the beginning of the awards. As soon as she heard the guy standing next to Naomi consoling her, she looked over and the body language almost immediately changed as she realized what was happening and she started to comfort her as well. I like a lot of what Serena said, but the whole 'we'll get through it' thing bothered me because she was suggesting that something wasn't fair. She also said in the press conference that she had a talk with Ramos, who was always fair to her, and she thought they had an understanding that everything was okay. Then, she couldn't let it go and she brought it back up again (loudly), and that's the problem.

Everyone will move on from it and I'm sure Serena will continue her greatness, and I'm guessing Naomi is not a social media type of person so I'm not worried about what the ridiculous haters have to say-- she's probably had the time of her life today playing video games.

 

[Vagabond]

I've never understood why people who are completely out of line use a hardship or character trait in one way or another to explain why it's not fair that they are being singled out/penalized/criticized/whatever.

Regardless of whether the following is applicable to any specific individual, this might answer your question.

To the extent that people are pathologically narcissistic, they can be controlling, blaming, self-absorbed, intolerant of others' views, unaware of others' needs and the effects of their behavior on others, and insist that others see them as they wish to be seen. Narcissistic individuals use various strategies to protect the self at the expense of others. They tend to devalue, derogate, insult, and blame others, and they often respond to threatening feedback with anger and hostility. Since the fragile ego of individuals with NPD is hypersensitive to perceived criticism or defeat, they are prone to feelings of shame, humiliation, and worthlessness over minor or even imagined incidents. They usually mask these feelings from others with feigned humility or by isolating themselves socially, or they may react with outbursts of rage, defiance, or by seeking revenge. The merging of the "inflated self-concept" and the "actual self" is seen in the inherent grandiosity of narcissistic personality disorder. Also inherent in this process are the defense mechanisms of denial, idealization and devaluation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

 

[gk_891]

Here's an article from the NY Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/09/sports/tennis/serena-williams-umpire-carlos-ramos-us-open.html

I think one part is very telling:

But he (Ramos) has not been hesitant to penalize men. He gave Murray a code violation during the 2016 Olympics after Murray accused him of “stupid umpiring.”
“No sexist issue there,” said Chris Evert, the former world No. 1, on Sunday. “His history with men players shows that.”

 

[becca]

N

Here's an article from the NY Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/09/sports/tennis/serena-williams-umpire-carlos-ramos-us-open.html

I think one part is very telling:

But he (Ramos) has not been hesitant to penalize men. He gave Murray a code violation during the 2016 Olympics after Murray accused him of “stupid umpiring.”
“No sexist issue there,” said Chris Evert, the former world No. 1, on Sunday. “His history with men players shows that.”

That is what’s I hate about those kind of accusations unless Serena has seen all of his matches she cannot say how he would have reacted to a male. Maybe he could have done a warning before the first violation but she is the one who escalated I think the coaching thing is stupid though.

If she wants to talk about role model how about how to react well when things don’t go her way. However at least she saw things were unfair to the winner.
This umpire has a rep for being strict not racist or sexist. And how much do I hate I am behaving badly which throwing a racket and threating an umpire is but you would penalize me less if I were this because at that moment sorry you don’t know how someone would react if your race or sex was different. Why not focus on your own behavior.

Apparently the crowd would cheer for the winner boo others but the winner didn’t even know what was going on.

This being said it seems like Serena gets emotional in the moment but seems to be well liked by the other players.

 

[Fan123]

Here's an article from the NY Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/09/sports/tennis/serena-williams-umpire-carlos-ramos-us-open.html

I think one part is very telling:

But he (Ramos) has not been hesitant to penalize men. He gave Murray a code violation during the 2016 Olympics after Murray accused him of “stupid umpiring.”
“No sexist issue there,” said Chris Evert, the former world No. 1, on Sunday. “His history with men players shows that.”

Thanks for the article. What bugs me more than anything else is her blatant cheating and lying, which has been lost in this whole drama. The article didn't mention any of it either. When asked at the press conference, Serena vehemently denied it, and her coach seemed to contradict her.

 

[becca]

Thanks for the article. What bugs me more than anything else is her blatant cheating and lying, which has been lost in this whole drama. The article didn't mention any of it either. When asked at the press conference, Serena vehemently denied it, and her coach seemed to contradict her.

It may not have been her but just coach. I think it’s a silly rule.

This being said Naomi is adorable she was quick to say hey I am not just Japanese my Dad is from Haiti.

I hope she continues to do really really well. I read an article that a lot of Japanese fans were endeared by her reaction to the win.

 

[mollymgr]

The men's final was great. The crowd was being enthusiastic and supportive to both.

 

[Deleted member 53443]

Watching Osaka's presser, she is so admirable and charming.
Hard to remember a nicer and humbler press conference after a Grand Slam win.

 

[gk_891]

I am seeing a lot of sexism in some of the posts here. Male players whine and question calls all the time, without any consequences. Serena has confidence like any top athlete. They need it in order to win. It does not mean she feels entitled. She is the winningest woman in tennis in the modern era, but she gets slammed. They would not dare do that to Nadal or Federer or Djokovic.

Except that Carlos Ramos has issued warnings to Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic before for violating the rules. His record as an umpire shows that he strictly enforces the rules onto both male players AND female players. In no way shape or form was he selectively targeting Serena because of some perceived sexism. And McEnroe has faced consequences for his atrocious behaviour. He was disqualified (very deservedly) from the 1990 Australian Open against Michael Pernfors.

 

[Fan123]

It may not have been her but just coach. I think it’s a silly rule.

But if you watched the video of the whole match that I posted earlier, Serena did look over to her coach, and according to Chris Everett, she did move to net and won some points because of the hand signals. The warning was issued within 3 seconds when they both got caught. Serena's denial, then her road rage like outbursts were unreal. Whether the rule is silly is up for debate, but players and coaches know there are consequences for being caught cheating.

 

[gk_891]

But if you watched the video of the whole match that I posted earlier, Serena did look over to her coach, and according to Chris Everett, she did move to net and won some points because of the hand signals. The warning was issued within 3 seconds when they both got caught. Serena's denial, then her road rage like outbursts were unreal. Whether the rule is silly is up for debate, but players and coaches know there are consequences for being caught cheating.

Have attitudes towards coaching during matches changed? In the late 80s when Steffi Graf once got a warning for coaching from her father, there was a lot of anger from the other tennis players about what the Grafs were allegedly doing. Yet there was none of that when Hingis got her warnings in the early 2000s and also now with Serena as many seem to saying that coaching during matches should be allowed.