“You’re just unattractive!” When Serena Williams launched a vigorous verbal assault on a chair umpire at the 2011 US Open
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Serena Williams
Serena Williams is one of the greatest sportspersons of all time but she has also been one of the most controversial ones in recent history. The 23-time grand slam has a few dark spots over her long and illustrious career, mostly due to her on-court rage. Serena is known for her expressive and bold style of tennis.
She is considered to have bought a change in women’s tennis when she started hitting the ball hard from the baseline. The ruthless aggression in which she played in the early 2000s became a new normal and naturally, this level of aggression came with a lot of on-court heat. There have been numerous instances of Serena getting involved with her opponents or chair umpires.
A similar instance occurred in the 2011 US Open final. Serena was playing Australian Samantha Stosur, who was the 9th seed in the tournament. During the match, Serena got into a heated argument with the chair umpire which eventually cost her the match. After losing the opening set, Serena was trying to pump herself up and yelled “c’mon” as she hit a winner against Stosur in the first game.
The chair umpire, Eva Asdaraki, judged this as a hindrance and gave Serena a warning for the same. Serena was very upset by this and confronted the chair umpire. “Aren’t you the one who screwed me over last time?” Williams said, confusing Ms. Asdaraki with another umpire. “That is totally not cool.”
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“You’re a hater!”: Serena Williams to the chair umpire
But Serena wasn’t done yet. During the changeover, she continued to verbally assault the chair umpire and called her Serena’s hater and unattractive.
“If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way,” Serena said. “Because you’re out of control, you’re out of control. You’re not only out of control, you’re a hater, and you’re just unattractive inside. Who would do such a thing? And I never complain. Wow!”
She once again got penalized for her words and was in disbelief after this. “A code violation because I expressed who I am? We’re in America right now!” she yelled.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)