Serena Williams might have looked like all fun and smiles at the SEWTA Year-End Championships Players’ Party, but let’s just say there was something grumbling right under the surface.
Her beef: the WTA forced her to stay in Madrid even after she’d pulled out of the YEC after her first round-robin match (because of her ailing knee) — in order to make a mandatory appearance at the party. This, Serena was none too happy about.
From her blog:
“Now I am in a severe depression. I need to go to my doctor in the U.S.A to make sure I am ok but what u [sic] guys don’t know is that I have to go to a mandatory player party on Saturday night. It’s kinda ironic and unfair that I can’t go get healthy because of a party. I mean who in their right mind made up these rules.
So not only do I have to hang in Madrid I have to be here knowing I had a chance to play in the most prestigious tournament of the year but I was forced out due to injury, and I have to watch someone else go on to glory. Do u know how that feels? I am always happy for the next person, and I always love when people better themselves, but I need to go home and get well, and start my healing process.”
Yikes! I guess a rule is a rule, eh? We wish you the best in your recovery, Serena.
(photo by Action Images via WTA)
tennis served fresh 
November 14, 2007 at 1:10 pm |
Serena has never shown any grace in losing – remember her behavior after her loss to Henin at the us open? classy. So i am not surprised that, once again, she’s pouting like a spoiled brat.
November 14, 2007 at 4:48 pm |
She’s been graceless before, sure, but she seems to have a point here.
November 14, 2007 at 7:30 pm |
she needs a lot more than healing on her knees at home, she need a bitch slap. I have never liked Serena, she hardly plays and always makes excuses, rarely acknowledging her opponent as equal to her. She is a talented player, lets not lie, but she needs to lighten up the attitude a bit
November 14, 2007 at 9:26 pm |
even though i am not a fan, she does look hot in these pics. (shrug)
November 15, 2007 at 8:55 am |
what’s the point of (re)posting this? i typically like this blog because it usually has interesting worthwhile information about tennis; however, if i want to read about serena williams personal issues, i’ll go to her blog and read it.
serena williams is not, as we can all clearly see, going to change her personality because she doesn’t fit the toted ideal in the tennis world: tall, skinny, white, and fake. i don’t agree with a lot of what she says, i feel as though she could benefit from a lesson in tact many a time, i also think she needs to go back to a regimen similar to the one she had in her heyday, but i do have to say more power to her for dealing with twits who have nothing better to do than ignore her success and dwell on her shortcomings.
to irina and nick, when you’ve done something worth remembering in your life (like won 8 grand slams) come back and pass judgement on someone who has and still can.
November 15, 2007 at 2:57 pm |
I posted this excerpt from Serena’s blog because I wanted to point out how weird it was that the WTA wouldn’t let Serena tend to her injury.
Also, while I can assume that my readers visit player blogs, I also consider doing them a service by highlighting interesting entries (since there are too many out there to visit all the time).
November 16, 2007 at 12:18 am |
You know, her look at the Madrid player’s party was the best of all the players there. I’m pleasantly surprised.
However, she just went and spoiled the effect with that blog. If she wants to dress up, fine, but she should keep her terrible personality under wraps.
In press conferences, she always comes off as a spoiled b*tch, unable to speak frankly about her own mistakes and acknowledge the good play of her opponents. I guess she is no different in text.
I don’t really have an opinion about the WTA’s policy either way…..but I really think that just because this is the information age, doesn’t mean everybody should blog.
November 16, 2007 at 2:55 am |
So many posts, so many lies.
“Lindsay Davenport cleaned my clock,” said Serena after she lost to Lindsay in an event in California.
“Sharapova played a great match. It was her day,” said Serena after losing to Maria in the Wimbledon final.
“Patty is always tough to deal with, especially on clay,” said Serena after losing to Schnyder in Rome this year.
“I choked from the first ball,” said Serena after losing to Justine at Roland Garros this year.
The first three quotes (and I could find many more but these three disprove the lies above) give her opponents credit and acknowledge their good play; the fourth is a frank assessment of her own mistake. How often to top players admit that they choked?
As for her not admitting that other players are equal to her. Well, just look at her career accomplishments and then point to the active players that are equal to her.
Serena has every right to complain about a rule that forces her to attend a party after withdrawing from an event due to injury. A party. That’s crazy.
November 16, 2007 at 10:42 am |
Ever notice how certain media outlets (and some tennis fans) cherry-pick the Williams sisters’ potent quotables? When the sisters dole out compliments (and admittedly they do so sparingly) they go unmentioned. And the smallest of slights get headlines. After Serena’s loss to JH @ the Open, she said, paraphrasing here, “I need to figure out a way to beat her.” Which is giving a ton of credit to JH. There’s no excuse-making or “I had a bad day” going on in Serena’s statement; She’s confessing that she doesn’t know how to get a win over JH. And yet the media continues to seize upon “lucky shots.” Where’s the
balance?
November 17, 2007 at 12:48 am |
Erwin:
I typically like your blog, as I have said before, and will still like it; however,
“I posted this excerpt from Serena’s blog because I wanted to point out how weird it was that the WTA wouldn’t let Serena tend to her injury.”
-This was remarkably under emphasized, and does not appear central to your post. For the reason that:
“Also, while I can assume that my readers visit player blogs, I also consider doing them a service by highlighting interesting entries (since there are too many out there to visit all the time).”
-This is what you constitute as interesting (?). Furthermore, you relay the information with undertones of bias towards rendering her as bizarre…
Ana:
“However, she just went and spoiled the effect with that blog. If she wants to dress up, fine, but she should keep her terrible personality under wraps.”
-explain to me the correlation, if you could…
Yes, she is such a spoiled b*tch from compton who statistcally should be dead or have multiple children and no future…wow, some people have it soooo easy.
Craig:
Thank you for being sensible. My particular favorite is “I played like a maniac.” French Open quarter final 2007. No, she just can’t acknowledge her shortcomings.
Dance-a-vic: Again, thank you for being logical.
Serena is just a regular human being. Furthermore, she is a tennis player, not a diplomat. And as far as sports players go, I think she’s rather benign.
December 12, 2007 at 11:05 am |
The Williams makes the WTA, it wouldn’t be half as popular without them because they are the only players that know how to showstop equally on and off the court, they set the mold for how to successfully market a female athlete. It’s their personalities and realness that makes women’s tennis the most successful female sport. Not Henin’s, Sharapova’s, or any other player on tour. All those players do is envy the Williams and try to imitate their media savvyness, and tennis domination without a fraction of the flair the Williams have mastered.
December 16, 2007 at 1:35 pm |
you know what Serena not having class is crazy. Serena went through racism and hell in her first years on Wta tour. She at the 2004 U.S Open quarter final was cheated by terrible calls. wtih all of that said has she cursed somebody out NO has she hit somebody in the face NO Serena has contain unbelieveable composure throughout some situations so i think ignorant pple need to think on that?????? When will people stop hating on her, it just says that she is always on somebodies mind so all the people dissing her it just says that you love her and she is always on your mind and she is one of the greatest of all time and people know it and just dont want to admit it but bottom line is she is rich beautiful sweet and the haters are irrelevant to her life serena keep goin and do wat you do
January 8, 2008 at 4:42 pm |
One of the things I like about Serena is that she says what’s on her mind. She and Kuzzy both look nice in that photo (Serena is not a man, however).
January 31, 2008 at 3:26 pm |
Actually, I think she did a nice job of being a showman here. She pumped up the YEC as important even though she wasn’t going to play for real. And downplayed the perk of hanging out in Madrid with a party, photo ops, fashion, etc.