Opinion | 2019 French Open: Looking at Serena Williams’ tantrums and becoming a bad sport
- American’s early exit at the French Open this weekend was one thing, but bumping another player to expedite her press conference is another example of the star’s inability to keep her cool
- Here’s a look at some of her on court meltdowns, but will we look back on her career with a different viewpoint in decades to come?
Athletes are allowed to have off days. Sometimes they don’t want to speak to the media, sometime they lose their cool in the heat of the moment. When it’s few and far between we tend to give them a hall pass.
But when it becomes a recurring theme, it’s tougher and tougher to brush aside their actions.
In a vacuum, one might understand Serena Williams’ actions as she gracelessly bowed out of the French Open this weekend, in which she bumped Austria’s Dominic Thiem from his press conference so she could start her own and get the heck out of Paris.
Thiem questioned her “bad personality” but this is characteristic of the 37-year-old American, who has a list of instances where she has been less than stellar in terms of politeness.
Not feeling the love at the 2003 French Open
Williams’ loss to Justin Henin-Hardenne in the 2003 French Open semi-finals is as excruciating as a prolonged visit to the dentist. It’s clear Williams was having an off day but she would later accuse the Belgian of “lying and fabricating” her way to the win. Williams was consistently booed for repeatedly slowing down the match to scold and shoot glances at the umpire and her opponent, much to the dismay of the crowd in Paris, who were obviously pro-Henin. Or, as the announcer said after the match, “Oh la la.”