After Serena Williams’ devastating loss in the recent U.S. Open, some accusations are floating around that she is, in fact, the sorest loser.
USA Today’s For the Win recently published a piece by Chris Chase, who details her previous displays of unsportsmanlike conduct, harking back to two infamous moments in 2008 and 2010 respectively.
The 2008 incident occurred when Serena was called for a foot fall and said to the judge, “I’m going to take this ball and shove it down your [expletive] throat,” among other things. She was given a point penalty that lost her the match.
In 2010, she was called for a hindrance and launched into a rage again, shouting, among other things, “If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way because you’re out of control, you’re out of control. You’re a hater and you’re just unattractive inside.”
Given these two examples, then, it is somewhat surprising that FTW would call Serena out on her post-game press conference that she gave shortly after her loss in the U.S. Open. Chase criticized her for not giving the reporters enough of her time, opining the fact that she had only been around to answer questions for a few minutes.
But on the other hand, The Washington Post’s Sarah Kaufman praised Serena for how she handled herself, saying, “Though she was clearly tired and solemn, she handled herself with grace just after taking a blow the size of which might crush the breath from the rest of us.”
“In Friday’s press conference following her loss in the U.S. Open semifinals, the one that ended her hopes for a tennis Grand Slam, Williams drew a line around what was too complicated to discuss and she put it off limits,” Kaufman wrote. “Good for her.”
What do you think, Grio fam? Are Serena’s critics right to call her a sore loser? Or has Serena’s composure only improved since those infamous outbursts years ago?