Serena should take lessons in court manners from Federer, a true legend
T he distinguished gentleman sat on a seat in front of me, at the annual Tennis Championship in Dubai. After 15 minutes, he got up and walked away. During the match, I noticed he went to various sections of the stadium, sat for about 15-20 minutes each and then went to another part. I wondered who he was, and why he was changing seats so often. ‘He is the father of Serena Williams. He studies the stadium before his daughters play a match. Serena is playing tomorrow, so he is assessing the stadium,’ a young Filipina usher told me. This is wonderful, I told myself. Here is a father who loves his daughters’ wins.
Serena is an accomplished and respected tennis player, star and role model. However, her conduct on the court, in the US Finals 2018, has been rotten. Just because a player is an international star, it does not give him or her the right to abuse officials. In a game like cricket, calling the umpire a liar or thief can result in a lifetime ban on a player.
Serena even threatened the umpire that he would never judge any of her matches in future. Granted she is one of the best. But the game is bigger than her. Serena has hurt the game of tennis.
Serena has also been highly unsporting in her conduct. Her paroxysms overshadowed the achievements of the 20-year-old Japanese player Naomi Osaka. And Naomi apologised to the crowd, for winning the match. How surreal can a situation become!
The fact is that when Serena realised that she may lose after the first set and thus not win her 24th Grand Slam to break Australian Margaret Court’s record, she became grumpy. To exacerbate matters, Serena is giving the entire nasty episode a feminist colour by alleging that the umpire handed down the penalties, because she was a woman. This is a simple case of arrogant behaviour by a sports star. It has nothing to do with sexism. It is important to note that at this year’s US Open, men received three times the fines for code violations compared to women.
At the age of 36, Serena, a veteran in the game, should have shown more sensitivity and goodwill for Naomi, a new, young champion. Serena should, in fact, learn court manners from Roger Federer, an epitome of tranquillity, whether he wins or loses. To be a great sports star, you have to be a good human being first. And a woman can bludgeon her own femininity, with crude conduct and expletives.