I’ve always found the Williams family ungracious in defeat or in victory, and Serena and her father, Richard, have shown that same attitude again in the ongoing 2007 US Open. Serena lost 7-6, 6-1 to Henin in a quarterfinal match that she didn’t seem to be motivated to play. And yet, in the post-match interview she calls Henin’s winners “lucky”, giving nothing to her opponent, as if to state that she lost only because of her play and not because Henin outplayed her. Richard explains away her daughter’s loss by saying “She’s hiding her injuries very well”, implying that Serena lost because she was hurt. Add to this Venus and Serena’s early history of pulling out of matches where they feel they can’t win, or withdrawing because of some unproven injury, and it’s not surprising that they have as many detractors as fans. I haven’t read Venus’ post-match interview after disposing of Jelena Jankovic in three sets, but I’m hoping she showed more graciousness in victory than her younger sister did in defeat.
Which is not to say that Henin, the woman who beat Serena, is no angel. She’s done her share of gamesmanship. Her “raised hand” at Serena at Roland Garros comes to mind. Her withdrawing against Amelie Mauresmo at last year’s Australian Open, and thus failing to give Mauresmo the proper victory as tournament champion. No, we know Henin has a bit of a “win-at-all-costs” mentality.
And then there’s Maria Sharapova’s endless and needless grunting, which puts her opponents off while the ball is in play. Monica Seles used to do that, but Sharapova has taken the volume up to another level. She’s eye-candy, sure, but she plays like she’s having painful sex at the same time.
Martina Hingis is older, wiser, and better behaved now. But she’s also not the dominant player she once was, so we don’t see how much better she carries herself nowadays. But when she was younger, she was pretty arrogant too. The time she went to Steffi Graf’s side of the court to dispute a line call at the French Open is still remembered by a lot of fans.
On the positive side, all this gamesmanship adds colour, drama, and controversy to the WTA. It’s just irritating sometimes, and it would make for a nice contrast if some WTA player with a better attitude would start winning and give us fans a look at what proper sportsmanship is.
