Serena let emotions control her. That’s it.
Serena Williams recently lost it during her semifinal match at the U.S. Open. It wasn’t quite the shout heard ’round the world, but days after her “conversation” with a lines woman, what Serena said to the judge was about as common for conversation as what President Obama called Kanye West.
For those who still haven’t heard, here’s what happened with Serena: After a lines judge called a foot fault on her, the U.S. Open defending champion dropped a few f-bombs at the judge, said she would shove the ball down the woman’s throat and said a few more unkind words.
The outburst ended up costing her the match because it cost her a point and it was match point. Smooth criminal.
What’s been most interesting, however, is not what Serena shouted at this poor woman or how many f-bombs she spewed. I’ve enjoyed people’s reactions to Serena.
Writers questioned whether this would taint Serena’s legacy forever. Others said Serena would never be looked at the same despite her 23 Grand Slam titles, including 11 by herself. Excuse me for not hopping on the hate bandwagon, but I find these reactions interesting.
Let’s analyze what happened: a tennis player, two points away from losing the match at one of four grand slams in front of thousands of people, cussed out a judge because she did not like the call the judge made. The call was very unusual and is almost never said during tennis matches, especially during such crucial points. But that’s not the point. In an emotionally-filled match and point, an intense tennis player let her emotions slide in front of her reasoning.
It’s happened to me many of times while playing tennis and competing in sports. I’m sure it’s happened to you as well. In fact, if you just said no, I’d probably call you a liar if I was sitting next to you.
In competition, emotions often blind or obstruct our rational thoughts. It doesn’t matter if its a geography contest or a tennis match or the Super Bowl, it happens. It’s why fans yell obscene words at opposing fans and teams. That and Mad Dog 20/20.
I’m sorry, but what Serena did was little different than what we’ve all done during emotional moments of our lives.
Yes, I know, Serena did say she would take the ball and shove it down the woman’s throat. That’s a little far, I agree. But think about it: she’s two points from losing the match, has all kinds of anger inside of her for already falling back a set, Serena basically was searching for someone in which to shout!
But, I suppose I agree with some of the columnists and fans who say they’ll never look at Serena the same again. I won’t, either, because after seeing her hit shots I didn’t think mortals could hit, now I know she’s human after all.
