American tennis star Serena Williams is one of the most successful athletes of all time, regardless of the sport. She has 23 Grand Slam titles to her name. While being an absolute beast on the court, Serena is highly respected for her warm and caring nature when she is off the court. However, a long career is bound to have some exceptions of the tennis star losing her cool. A similar incident happened at the final of the 2011 US Open.

Playing against Samantha Stosur, the chair umpire docked a point from Serena for shouting ‘come on’ in the heat of the moment. Furious about the decision, Serena called the umpire a loser. Later, she received a fine of $2000 for her conduct.

Many consider that it was unfair to Serena. Former tennis star Jimmy Connors also came in support of the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

Jimmy Connors defended Serena Williams

The former world number 1 wasn’t happy with the fine. Citing the example from his playing days, Connors said that he and John McEnroe would have not played the game for long in similar circumstances.

“Was it that terrible? If that’s terrible, then me and John McEnroe wouldn’t have been in the game very long. We clashed on every point, and sometimes it was pure pandemonium. But fans loved it,” he said.

Further, he claimed such things happen in the heat of the moment.

“That crowd of 25,000 was begging for something to happen in that match, and at that moment, they got loud and behind Serena,” he added.

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Interestingly, Serena had a similar outburst, yet again it was in the US Open. Playing against Naomi Osaka in the 2018 US Open final, she clashed with the chair umpire, Carlos Ramos. A notable point in both instances was that Serena ended up on the losing side.

When Serena questioned inequality

Serena didn’t like the treatment of the umpire toward her in the US Open 2018 as well. The 40-year-old questioned how a player on the men’s side is let go after doing the same thing while she has to face severe punishment.

The chair umpire docked Serena, a point in her match against Naomi Osaka. However, instead of accepting it, she protested, and called the chair umpire a “thief”. Subsequently, the umpire awarded the entire game to her opponent, citing verbal abuse. This angered Serena as she questioned if a similar punishment will be given to a male tennis player.

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Currently, after making a comeback in Wimbledon earlier this year, Serena is gearing up for the upcoming US Open. Can Serena win it this time without embroiling in any controversies?