‘Have People Picking on Me’ – When a ‘Nasty’ Serena Williams Refused to Apologize for Her Controversial US Open Tirade

Despite being one of the best tennis players of all time, Serena Williams had her own flaws. During the 2009 semi-finals against Kim Clijsters at the US Open, Williams went all out on the line judge after she called her on a foot fault. American tennis legend, John McEnroe, also tried to make Williams apologize for her rant toward the umpire.

However, both Williams and her family did not think that it was right.

Serena Williams found people picking on her because of the 2009 US Open

The American tennis legend has experienced several highs and lows during her 27-year-long career. And one such moment happened when people pointed their fingers at her for having an on-court outburst targeted towards a line judge. Williams was playing a semi-final match against Kim Clijsters. During the game, the line judge called her on a foot fault. The former world no. 1 shouted at the line judge and people criticized her for showcasing her aggressive behavior on the court.

The 2009 documentary also shows that moment. But Williams did not feel that it was correct for people to blame her like this. She said, “I’m tired of apologizing. I just have people picking on me. I’m done.” 

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Tennis is a sport where the player tends to give into her/his intrinsic emotions. Over the years, many renowned players have lost their cool on the court, from John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Nick Kyrgios to Alexander Zverev, Martina Navratilova and Maria Sharapova.

Serena had a similar outburst at the chair umpire in the 2018 US Open

The 23-time Grand Slam champion was playing against the then up-and-coming Japanese star Naomi Osaka in the championship match of the 2018 US Open. However, during the match, the chair umpire gave her a code violation when he found her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, coaching her via hand gestures. But that angered the American legend, as she denied involving in on-court coaching and lashed out at the chair umpire.

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Later on, her coach agreed that he was indeed trying to coach Serena, but she had not looked at him at all. Later, Serena apologized to Naomi Osaka for making things awkward about her victory.