I consider myself a big fan of Serena Williams (and her sister Venus, too), but some of her antics leave a lot to be desired. Last month she told the world that the WTA’s No. 1 player, Dinara Safina, wasn’t the real No. 1 player in the world: Serena was (of course, she then lost in her next tournament that Safina won). Then, after her French Open win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Serena accused her opponent of “cheating” because she didn’t forfeit a point when a ball hit her in the arm. Serena herself summed it up perfectly; Unfortunately, drama queens simply can’t get out of their own way:
I’m, like, drama. And I don’t want to be drama. I’m like one of those girls on a reality show that has all the drama, and everyone in the house hates them because no matter what they do, like, drama follows them. I don’t want to be that girl.
on Jun 2nd, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Cyd Zeigler jr. is a fool to take sides with a known cheat like Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
FOOL!
on Jun 2nd, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Serena is not a drama Queen, she knows she is the greatest player and deserve to be # 1. Look at the system which requirer players to spend their whole life just playing tennis in order to rank as number one. Serena does not care what the system saids she is number one and that’s how you win games. In essence she does not need the rank and file system she has her own and she is number one. Sometimes you have the look through another lens and forget about the injustices of out dated systems and people and make your own rules. Serena you make us all proud keep up the good work.
on Jun 2nd, 2009 at 1:06 PM
Elaine, I’ve long said she is the best player in the world. But she really shouldn’t be saying it. She knows the rules – if she wants to be No. 1, she should play the tournaments. Besides, she didn’t say “I’m really the best player,” she said, “I’m the real No. 1.” Um, no she’s not – she’s No. 2…and the best player.
on Jun 2nd, 2009 at 1:07 PM
In Serena’s defense:
*Replays showed that the ball did in fact hit her opponent. The point should have been Serena’s, end of story. Instead, her opponent was awarded the point and the game, a break of serve that was the difference in the first set. Serena had every right to argue the call, and the fact that every headline about the story focused on the “drama queen” theme was silly and unwarranted.
*Serena is clearly the best female tennis player on the tour, with twice as many Grand Slam titles as any other active player. For Safina to be #1 in the world without winning a Grand Slam is like a Major League Baseball team claiming to be the best team in baseball without winning the World Series.
on Jun 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 PM
I hate to harp on this but, in the article your explanation of the scenario in which Serena called Sanchez a “cheat”is vague. The fact of the matter is that point was the difference maker in who was the winner of that set (J.P. so thoroughly explained). And for that reason I feel her “drama” was warranted. It sucks when a set can be called by inept chair umpires when you play the games by the rules.
Remember in the 2nd round Venus’ of the ‘04 wimby championships when the umpire miscalled the score in the tie break, allowing her opponent to take an undeserved lead and the set and the match? Venus didn’t even so much as say word to the ump and was quiet as she allowed this to happen. Tennis is a fickle sport based largely on momentum and crowd reaction, and the slightest mishap can cause that momentum to swing in the other direction. So to me Serena complaining about this is no different than an NBA player crying about how he didn’t get the foul call when it should have been called.
The media loves to pick on the Williams Sisters’, especially Serena. And this is because she speaks her mind. Hingis and Capriati, in their prime often spoke their minds and were seen as
focused, cut throat players that were edgy, and they where ultimately praised for that mind set. Serena does it and she’s called classless, a drama queen, a whiner and a liar… why this double standard exist among players of the same gender… i’ll never know, so maybe the answer lies in another reason.
This article upsets me so much. Americans can even appreciate that we have the greatest female champion of any sport in this current era. Instead we want complain about how she complains. This is not a bash a you Cyd, but to all media.
on Jun 2nd, 2009 at 9:30 PM
I’m all for slamming Serena when she deserves it (her usual inability to give credit to her opponent when she loses) but she was right about the ball hitting her opponent’s arm and the other players on the tour will go out of their way to shame Sanchez. I do wonder if Serena’s rep for her issues with giving credit may have something to do with Sanchez not wanting to own up to her cheating?
on Jun 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 PM
Clearly having see the replay many times, the ball did hit Maria Jose Martinez’s arm first. Serena was absolutely right when she said she was sure that ball hit her opp 100%. Maria Jose is a consummate liar, there is simply no way that she would be oblivious to a direct ball strike to her arm like that, any one who has played even a little tennis will tell you that. While I am no fan of players who complain and demean other players, but there is no doubt that in this case that Serena was was 100 % right. You cannot blame some one for speaking the truth, however “stupid” it might seem.
on Jun 2nd, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Serena is fabulous, drama and all. Don’t hate. Appreciate her great matches, success, and style.
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 2:59 AM
Free Serena Williams!!!!
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 11:25 AM
That ball did hit that girl’s arm and Serena was right to call her out on it. The only drama going on here is this article
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 11:53 AM
You can’t treat reaching number one as an accomplishment when YOU do it, then dismiss it someone else when they reaches it. It’s hypocritical. Serena lost today in the quarter final to Kuznetsova. She has lost in the quarter finals of several Grand Slams in the last couple of years….mostly to Justine. So, she isn’t as dominant as she pretends to be. Also, Serena FIRED that ball into her opponent, who could do nothing but duck and cover…..and it’s her opponent who cheated?
Serena said she “felt bad” for hitting her. Right. She knew all she had to do is hit her opponent with the ball to get the point, and that’s what she did. She was just irritated when her “accidental” shot didn’t pay off. I admire and respect Venus because of she has serious game….and quiet composure and dignity. Not true of Serena.
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 PM
A more fair and balance article might discuss why others feel a need to cheat to beat the Williamses, especially when on each occasion of “drama” there is video evidence that supports the Williamses claims…but instead we get a leading headline that makes Serena look like the bad sport. Pity.
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 1:08 PM
Serena is a world class athlete and tennis player but she has no class or sportsmanship. She is a very sore loser who never gives credit to her opponent. True to form when she lost in the French quarterfinals she said the loss was due to what she did rather than anything her opponent did. Oh really? I watched the match and Serena got whipped because her opponent was more aggressive and put Serena on the defensive. Also Serena’s footwork was out of sync. Serena won’t get the number one ranking by crying and moaning that she should be #1. She has to prove it on the court. She has to get it out of her mind that she has an “entitlement” to the number ranking. Despite how mant grand slams she wins she will never be considered on of the great champions until she gets some class and humility.
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 PM
Serena invites the drama in herself. I think it’s true and apparently so does she. I agree that she has every right to complain if she thinks someone did something wrong (much like Blake vs Gonzalez at last year’s Olympics). But the real reason for this article is about her constant “issues” with people, tournaments, and the tour.
If she loses, she puts blame on the tour with the hectic schedule or her lack of ability to play well despite her opponent’s skills (like the latest loss to Kuznetsova). Listen to and read her comments:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/interviews/2009-06-03/200906031244046391110.html
Then listen to Kuznetsova:
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/news/interviews/2009-06-03/200906031244048169919.html
Even the last time she lost a big match (vs Azarenka in Miami) she was an ungracious loser.
So it is hard for the media to not give her this rap because she displays it constantly. Her last 3 losses (Marbella, Rome, and Madrid) are great examples where she blames the tour for the packed schedule. I agree it is a very long, greuling schedule for any player. But she has no right to complain about this. Ever since 2003, the most she played in one year was 12 tournaments. Many top players play 15+. She does not have a right to claim fatigue. At most she plays 17 weeks out of a 42 weeks tennis tour.
The tour is meant to be that long so players have the option to pick and choose what they want to play while gearing up for the Big 4. If players only played the 4 Grand Slams, then tennis wouldn’t be what it is today. Using someone’s Baseball analogy, would baseball be just as interesting if teams only played the Playoffs? (who would pick the teams to go?)
It’s one thing to “believe” you are number one… it’s another thing to “show” you are by getting to finals and winning tournaments.
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 4:48 PM
the rule is:never complain;never explain
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Serena is in the wrong here…firing a ball at her opponent is just wrong. Forget the replay…yes the ball hit the Spanish player. But the rule is that players lose the point if they “touch” the ball…someone firing the ball at you isn’t your fault.
The rule was made to prevent people from hitting the ball over the net with their hand…but watching the replay it appeared the ball hit the Spanish player’s racket before going back over the net.
So, even if Serena is “technically” right she merely exposed a loophole. The rule needs to be changed. I can see it now in the future when players intentionally hit each other. In baseball, plunking a batter is a foul…iunless the player being hit moves in front of it intentionally. It should be up to the umpire to determine whether the batter or player intentionally got hit, or if the person firing the shot was responsible for the plunking.
on Jun 8th, 2009 at 4:24 PM
From Jon Wertheim’s French Open roundup:
• Go ahead and call Serena Williams a drama queen. But let the record reflect that she was correct: the ball really hit Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Likewise Serena was correct in questioning the line calls that went against her during that Jennifer Capriati match at the U.S. Open. And she was correct: Justine Henin indicated a let, only to play dumb when she won the point. And her recent questioning of Dinara Safina’s bona fides may not have been the height of tact, but it wasn’t exactly invalidated either….
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Its a well known tactic MANY players have used to go straight at the opponent. If you are willing to come to net then you need to expect it.
on Aug 13th, 2009 at 1:07 AM
So Serena was wrong for wanting a point that would have no doubt been given to her opponent had the situation been reversed??? Nobody would have taken Serena’s side the way people took the other girls side, I suppose Serena was supposed to shut up and give away points. And whether Serena hit the ball at the girl or not isn’t the point. The rule says that if the ball hits your body you automatically lose the point. It’s the defender’s job to either get out of the way or make contact with their racket, it’s not up for debate. But I get it, Serena is forever going to be labeled the bully or treated like she has some unfair advantage just because of her God given strong physique. People treat her like she is a man playing little girls when in fact she deals with more “womanly issues during play than most. If it’s not the menstrual migraines, the D cups killing her back, the big booty that never leaves no matter how small she is, it’s the constant badgering about her weight. I swear, I’ve never seen an athlete be ripped to shreds in the media for being too muscular, then in the very next headline be called too fat. What kind of sense does that make? Also, how can anyone feel that Serena needs to prove herself to be number 1 when the current number hasn’t proved a damn thing and somehow that’s ok just because she plays a lot??? It may not be all about the slams, but you should at least be able to win one before you are able to call yourself number 1. Does number 1 no longer stand for the best? Any system that allows a TENNIS player to be ranked #1 without a slam doesn’t deserve to be respected. Neither does anybody defending such a system or throwing shade at Serena for being herself and not a politician lying to you for votes.
on Feb 20th, 2010 at 2:28 AM
Serena is my favorite sports woman.