Serena Williams Will Kill You
With a tennis ball 
During her semifinal match again unseeded Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open this weekend, defending champion Serena Williams lost her temper and threatened to murder a line judge in the face with a tennis ball. The chair umpire penalized her and, as a result, she lost the match.
From the AP:
With Williams serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, she faulted on her first serve. On the second serve, a line judge called a foot fault, making it a double-fault — a call rarely, if ever, seen at that stage of any match, let alone the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.
That made the score 15-40, putting Clijsters one point from victory.
Then Serena decided it was a good idea to go yell at the line judge and the umpire some more, resulting in a point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and ultimately, the loss of the game. (She had already been cited for “racket abuse” after she broke her racket on the net during the first set, and the point penalty came on match point.) Here’s what she said to the line judge: “If I could, I would take this fucking ball and shove it down your fucking throat.“
Updated: Video after the jump:
I don’t know much about tennis. The scoring is crazy. There’s not enough people on the field. None of the players are missing their teeth. It’s too civilized (this is, incidentally, why I can’t get into golf. The only time I enjoy golf is when people don’t know what “FORE!” means, and they got knocked the fuck out by an errant golf ball.) And while I don’t really care that much about tennis, I’d be interested to know whether or not it’s true that a double foot fault is rarely called at all, must less at that stage of a tennis match. (Not that it excuses her behavior.)
I did happen to catch her press conference afterwards. She was pretty smirky throughout the whole affair. When asked what it was she said to the line judge, she smirkily responded:
“What did I say? You didn’t hear?”
“I’ve never been in a fight in my whole life, so I don’t know why she would have felt threatened.”
Smart move on her part–not repeating whatever it was she thought she said on the court in the heat of the moment. Not so smart a move on her part? Acting the damn fool in the first place. I mean, that’s the number one rule of sportsmanlike conduct, isn’t it? “Don’t act the fool.”
In the video, after the line judge runs over to the chair umpire, you can hear Serena defend herself by saying: “Sorry, but there are a lot of people who’ve said way worse.” Then the line judge says blah blah blah and Williams responds in disbelief: “I didn’t say I would kill you. Are you serious? I didn’t say that.” The line judge says “Yes.”
So, squeeple? What do you think? I think it’s a pretty unfortunate way to lose a match. I think it’s an unfortunate way to win a match (for her opponent, Kim Clijsters). I think Serena should have watched her damn mouth, but when you act the fool, you end up playing the fool. (No, I don’t know what that means.)
I also think that more people should be fined and jailed for “racket abuse.” It is a growing threat in America. As Sar said to me: “We need bumper stickers. We need ribbons.” Report racket abuse, people. The racket you save might be your own.
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Tags: Serena Williams, Sports, stopthemadness, tennis, U.S. Open, unsportsmanlike conduct
This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 9:00 AM and is filed under Celebrity Shenanigans, Daily Whims, News You May or May Not Use. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:13 AM
Cristal Methodd says:When you play a sport you put your fate into the hands of the umpires. Sorry ’bout it. If you don’t like it Serena, then start your own “Extreme! Tennis” sport where there are no umpires and you actually get points for racquet abuse and shoving tennis balls in orifices.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:37 AM
Dr. Gunslider says:“Everybody plays the fool,Sometiiiiiimes, no exception to the rule. LISTEN BABY!” Sorry about the Smokey reference, I live in Motown after all.
I’d feel pretty threatened if Serena said anything about putting a tennis ball in any orifice of mine. I love the lady’s face in the picture, she looks absolutely horrified.
I’ve always thought the point of golf is to hit the ball around a golf course while you were drunk. Doing it sober doesn’t seem like fun at all.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:41 AM
Helen Skor says:“I’ve never been in a fight in my whole life, so I don’t know why she would have felt threatened.”
I’m sorry, but the line judge was a borderline little person, and Serena has a very imposing physical presence. Surely she must realize that, right? I mean, I’m not a little girl, and I know it. And while I have also never been in a fight, I know that the threat of an ass-kicking from me is enough to get most people to stand down. And yeah, whether she threatened to kill her or shove the ball down the judge’s throat, it was totally unacceptable.
By the way, did any one else get a chuckle when the line judge ran over to the other judge to tell them what had happened? It was downright comical.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Run-DMS says:Actually, Everybody Plays the Fool was by The Main Ingredient. Trivia: Cuba Gooding Sr. sang lead vox.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Dr. Gunslider says:*wipes the egg of my face* you’re right I probably was thinking Smokey cause I heard “Tears of a Clown” a few minutes before. My ADD is in overdrive today.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Run-DMS says:Gotta say, this is the funniest sports incident so far this year. And I liked Williams more for the human foible of losing her shit on a bad day. Then I liked her a little less for saying no one could have felt threatened by her outburst because, gosh, she’s never been in a fight.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:23 AM
stopthemadness says:i did, helen. she scurried over there like she was being chased by a yeti.
and yeah, i’m not one to back down from assholes (even though i’m pretty small too… i just have a BIG mouth), if serena were towering over me with her ginormous muscles, i’m pretty sure i’d go crying home to my mommy as well.
September 14th, 2009 at 11:01 AM
mme marbles says:it’s pretty funny. and that line judge is a weanie. i mean, go ahead and report her unsportsmanlike conduct. it was uncalled for. but to say she actually threatened to kill her?? come ON, lady, get a grip. i bet that judge also believes that the health care bill includes a provision for death panels. and that if you sing at the dinner table, it makes the angels cry.
September 14th, 2009 at 12:47 PM
chelsea says:When you are a star you get the idea that everyone is here to please you even a line judge.
mme marbles you don’t use capitals to started a sentence or for the word I and you started a sentence with and. Is this the same person that told me to get a book on this subject
September 14th, 2009 at 1:12 PM
TheHobo says:chelsea: if you know the rules, you can break them. :-P
September 14th, 2009 at 1:21 PM
chelsea says:I know but no ONE should be holy than thou. This does not come easy,
September 14th, 2009 at 2:15 PM
SeaKat says:I love how, on other blogs, the fighting turns into:
You’re a bitch!
No, YOU’RE a bitch!
Whereas, here on TS!, the fights always devolve into:
You made a grammatical error!
No, YOU DID!
It warms the cockles of my grammar-lovin’ heart!
September 14th, 2009 at 2:46 PM
TheHobo says:hehehehehehe
Ah, the Grammar Wars…
I still get PTSD flashbacks whenever anyone brings up sentence diagrams…
September 14th, 2009 at 4:43 PM
mme marbles says:yes, yes, little firecracker, sometimes i choose to write in all lowercase letters. as stm says, when you know the rules, you can choose to break them. and (contrary to what some schoolmarms teach) there is nothing wrong with beginning a sentence with “and.” http://www.businesswritingblog.com/business_writing/2005/11/but_its_okay_an.html
chelsea, despite your poor punctuation, i admire your tenacity. you continue to post on this website even though you are constantly attacked. you should keep it up; the hags and their fans need your contrary viewpoint!
September 14th, 2009 at 5:21 PM
lava says:man, that’s awesome. i so wish i could walk around threatening people on a daily basis and send them running. because the fogie in front of me in the buick today can choke on a tennis ball. fafanapoly.