‘Calling My Balls Out’ – Serena Williams Alleges Umpire Injustice Early in Her Career Traumatized Her a Great Deal

American tennis legend Serena Williams is in the final days of her career. Earlier this month, the 40-year-old announced her retirement plans. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is going to retire after the American hard court swing. Now that she is all set to feature in the last US Open of her career, the 40-year-old engaged in a chat with her longtime friend Meghan Markle.

Williams also revealed how a constant pattern of judgment by line umpires impacted her game badly. The two ladies also discussed various other misconceptions about an ambitious woman.

Serena Williams was traumatized

The 40-year-old revealed that she had a traumatic experience when the line umpires started calling her balls out. It happened in the 2004 US Open quarterfinal. Serena revealed how the Hawk-Eye technology impacted her game in a negative way.

“It just wasn’t one thing I’m telling you. The reason that I have trauma from it was because it’s been like five things or more. I know the first reason the hawk eye became like a thing was because they were calling my balls out and they weren’t even close to the line,” she said.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion further revealed that it also affected her aggressive gameplay, and she was not the same again.

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“I had this fear of hitting because every time I hit a ball, they would call it out no matter how close it was or how far it was. I was afraid to be Serena because of all the experiences that I’ve had,” she added.

Serena loses twice after declaring retirement

The 40-year-old was featuring in The National Bank Open when her retirement news broke through. She had already won her first-round match and was going to face Belinda Bencic in the second round.

While the excitement of watching Serena play increased after her declaration, her performance has been disappointing. The 23-time Grand Slam champion went down in straight sets to her Swiss opponent. Later, she faced a tough challenge against the British number one Emma Raducanu in the Cincinnati Masters opener.

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However, the US Open defending champion was too good for Williams. With only the US Open left for Serena, her fans will hope for a better farewell.