Tennis Thread

[Sarahsmile416]

1 minute ago, BitterApple said:

Wow, the crowd is booing? What an absolute disgrace. 

I understand it's not directed at Naomi, but come on.

Horrendous. The poor girl is crying.  Everybody concerned needs to just get over themselves ?

[Spunkygal]

Just now, Sarahsmile416 said:

Horrendous. The poor girl is crying.  Everybody concerned needs to just get over themselves ?

One million likes for this. 

[Dejana]

Patrick was coaching.

Others coach but he got busted. 

Serena should have just let it go, but didn't, and compounded the penalties.

However, there is such a thing as swallowing the whistle. Who knows what would have happened without the game penalty?

This is awkward as hell. Nice of Serena to tell the crowd to stop booing, but "We're going to get through this," lol.

Edited September 8, 2018 by Dejana

[theatremouse]

I mean, the whole thing was bizarre. He was clearly coaching and it's weird for her to double-down on it because there's no way she didn't see it. Obviously, she's not going to argue the equipment abuse violation. But I also don't think she was wrong to be upset about the game penalty. She should've just shut up about the damn first warning in the first place but she's not wrong that MANY players get upset about one thing...and continuing rambling at the umpire between points FOR AGES and do not get any sort of penalty for it, saying much worse things than she did. I mean, they have the rule so players don't do what she did here, complain to umpires at every chance they get about an issue that is over and resolved and not going to change. And yet players do it, constantly, without any code violations. So it is unfortunate that the time this one starts to be enforced is not only in the final, but basically deciding the final. 

Like seriously, how many times has Nick Kyrgios smashed multiple rackets and bitched and moaned at an umpire an entire match? What about Fognini? Paire of late too. Did any of them get to the point of a game penalty? And is it because after the earlier warning and/or point penalty they actually behaved themselves? Or just because the umpire chose not to give the third violation? I'm genuinely asking now because I'm suddenly intrigued by the stats.

[QueerGirrl]

Poor kid.

[Bewitched]

So is Osaka implying she doesn't think she earned it?  Because she totally did.  She outplayed Serena up until the craziness started.  Serena looked slow in the first set and I really thought Osaka would win in two.

[BuckeyeLou]

Goodness, Naomi's win is being over-shadowed by all the 'hoopla"....I feel bad for her.   I'm impressed she kept her cool during the match what with all the hoopla...Naomi seems sad she won.  

[Sarahsmile416]

Serena could learn something from Naomi when it comes to poise 

[ShellsandCheese]

I feel so bad for Osaka. I know a lot of it is cultural but I wish she would stop apologizing for winning!!! At least Serena told the damn crowd to stop booing. Osaka won that match, she killed it. I hope she’s able to truly celebrate it. This was the worst. 

[Spunkygal]

This breaks my cold dead heart for Naomi. 

[Sarahsmile416]

These announcers are driving me crazy- seriously, presence? Poise? Are we talking about the same person? 

And dude, maybe if we stop referring to her as a queen she might stop thinking of herself as one ?

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Oh, Naomi. Poor baby looks so embarrassed.  Not the emotion she should be living at a moment like this.  I want her dad to stop wandering the courts and come give her a hug!

ETA:  

$3.8M!!  Hootie hooooo!

Edited September 8, 2018 by SuburbanHangSuite
adding stuff

[Harry24]

Okay, good point from Shriver, that it's so difficult to hear anything when you're on (or even just near) the court, that it's very likely Serena didn't even hear what the ref said regarding the point off and code of conduct violation.  

[BitterApple]

1 minute ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

These announcers are driving me crazy- seriously, presence? Poise? Are we talking about the same person? 

And dude, maybe if we stop referring to her as a queen she might stop thinking of herself as one ?

Yeah, I'm kind of eye-rolling Pam's "leadership" comment. Do I think docking Serena a game was a bit extra? Yes, but the other violations were justified and Serena's the one who chose to throw a hissy fit instead of moving on. 

She did try to redeem herself during the speeches but I wouldn't call her poised or a leader in this instance. She acted badly and needs to own it.

[ShellsandCheese]

7 minutes ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

Serena could learn something from Naomi when it comes to poise 

Serena told the crowd to stop booing. She gets props for that. She treated Osaka with the respect. And I’m sorry when it comes to talking to umps, I’ve seen far worse; even from St. Federer, who I admittedly love. People always try to magnify what Serena does x100.  I actually don’t think what happened warranted a free game either. This is the same tournament where an umpire gave a pep talk to a male player with no consequences - and PM was not giving her a thumbs up. Both his hands and arms were moving; I thought he was mimicking an elevator. 

Edited September 8, 2018 by ShellsandCheese

[Ohwell]

I'm sorry, Serena AND her loud, booing. rude fans can just go fuck themselves.  Serena tried her best to rattle Naomi and it just didn't work.

Congratulations, Naomi.  You earned it!  Now dad needs to come on screen and give her a big hug.   

[theatremouse]

9 minutes ago, Bewitched said:

So is Osaka implying she doesn't think she earned it?  Because she totally did.  She outplayed Serena up until the craziness started. 

I don't think she was implying that. I thought she was implying she'd have rather won the fifth game herself (and probably would've). Like even when it was happening the look on her face was kinda like "let's just play". She was going to win that match anyway and even if Serena hadn't had a meltdown after the game penalty, I think Naomi would've rather not had the freebie anyway.

[Ohwell]

11 minutes ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

And dude, maybe if we stop referring to her as a queen she might stop thinking of herself as one

Yes.  It doesn't help that they have their heads up her ass, but you just know when they're out of earshot they probably talk about her like a dog.

[Sarahsmile416]

2 minutes ago, ShellsandCheese said:

Serena told the crowd to stop booing. She gets propped for that. I actually don’t think what happened warranted a free game either. This is the same tournament where an umpire gave a pep talk to a male player with no consequences - and PM was not giving her a thumbs up. Both his hands and arms were moving; I thought he was mimicking an elevator. 

I don’t think it warranted the game point either, but as my husband was saying, actions have consequences.  Do I think he judged her more harshly than others? Yes. Do I think he judged her more harshly because she was a woman? No.  I think he judged her more harshly because she has a reputation for this kind of stuff. 

It was nice of her to tell the crowd to stop booing, but it would have been nice if she didn’t make the match a side show in the first place

[Ohwell]

13 minutes ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

It was nice of her to tell the crowd to stop booing, but it would have been nice if she didn’t make the match a side show in the first place

She wanted a side show because she knew she was getting her ass whipped.  She either needs to get back in shape (it's hard, I know) or retire because she looked like a hippo out on that court.

[SrOfficial]

What makes tennis players such immature prima donas?  Men & women players - can't stand them!

1 minute ago, Ohwell said:

She either needs to get back in shape (it's hard, I know) or retire because she looked like a hippo out on that court.

Thank you.  I didn't want to say it!  She looked like Ashley Graham gallomping around there.

[mojoween]

A woman telling another woman to smile (twice!) is gross.  Was that Pam?  Whoever it was, please stop.

[QueerGirrl]

7 minutes ago, SrOfficial said:

What makes tennis players such immature prima donas?  Men & women players - can't stand them!

Thank you.  I didn't want to say it!  She looked like Ashley Graham gallomping around there.

Ashley Graham is hot as hell!  What a complement!

[sacrebleu]

Blech watching the post match presser was a bad idea, with the as a mother, how did you...

How will you explain this to your daughter..

 

Quite frankly, it's a little insulting that she isn't allowed to have a thought or feeling that isn't through the prism of motherhood. She's still a person, an athlete, she has ideas compketely independent of her ability to bear children.

[selkie]

My criteria for going forward in a professional athletic career when seeming to be past peak is:

1. Can you still support yourself with your game and endorsement deals?

2. Do you genuinely enjoy getting up in the morning and going to work?

Serena seems to be making both those criteria, so eh, might as well continue on with her fun and well-paying career. 

[BitterApple]

1 minute ago, sacrebleu said:

Blech watching the post match presser was a bad idea, with the as a mother, how did you...

How will you explain this to your daughter..

 

Quite frankly, it's a little insulting that she isn't allowed to have a thought or feeling that isn't through the prism of motherhood. She's still a person, an athlete, she has ideas compketely independent of her ability to bear children.

I agree. I know Serena's largely responsible for creating this narrative but the announcers are making mountains out of molehills. I don't think little Alexis will be traumatized because her mother lost her temper in a tennis match. 

[Miss Chevious]

The hissy fit by Serena was a calculated tactic to undermine her opponent. When she’s behind, she’ll start some drama to break up her opponent’s momentum, put the focus on herself and get the crowd all riled up in her favor.  Typical diva behavior. This isn’t the first time she’s done it and it won’t be the last. (And some men have done it too.)

The sad part is Naomi Osaka was made to feel inferior when she was clearly outplaying Serena. She should have been all smiles on her victory and Serena ruined it for her. 

[Ohwell]

And I can't stand Serena's coach either Patrick Mouglou or whateverthefuck his last name is, because she's his meal ticket and he's going to run this story into the ground.  He's already got a commenting gig off of being her coach. 

[bosawks]

Does anyone remember the last time there was a game penalty in a Grand Slam final?

I’m watching with 5 people and we’ve got nothing.

We’re guessing McEnroe just because, McEnroe...

[Rickster]

18 minutes ago, sacrebleu said:

Blech watching the post match presser was a bad idea, with the as a mother, how did you...

How will you explain this to your daughter..

 

Quite frankly, it's a little insulting that she isn't allowed to have a thought or feeling that isn't through the prism of motherhood. She's still a person, an athlete, she has ideas compketely independent of her ability to bear children.

In fairness to the question, Serena brought up the fact that she was a mom, had a daughter, several times in her rants at the chair umpire.

[sacrebleu]

Well, to answer @bosawks question, I'm pretty sure it was when Serena told a line judge she would shove a tennis ball down her f*cking throat.

 

2009 US Open? If memory serves...

[ShellsandCheese]

21 minutes ago, bosawks said:

Does anyone remember the last time there was a game penalty in a Grand Slam final?

I’m watching with 5 people and we’ve got nothing.

We’re guessing McEnroe just because, McEnroe...

LOL. It was probably McEnroe, but yeah it just doesn't happen. Moving along, I really hope that Del Potro wins tomorrow! I still don't care for Nole. 

[halopub]

It's been interesting to see what has been going viral on Japanese social media. Apparently this one little moment of Naomi eating a banana while the tournament was prepping the stage is blowing up:

 

Folks are calling it cute and asking if she was still in game mode. Naomi's told the press that it was probably just out of habit but Japanese tweeters are finding it really endearing.

I used to be more bothered by her ums and uptalking but the more I hear Naomi speak...the more I hear Japanese speech patterns than anything else. I hope she keeps her funny, fresh personality and doesn't get jaded as her career progresses. 

Edited September 8, 2018 by halopub
fixed link

[Ohwell]

Are those tennis cowboy boots that Serena wears now?  

[Darknight]

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

And I can't stand Serena's coach either Patrick Mouglou or whateverthefuck his last name is, because she's his meal ticket and he's going to run this story into the ground.  He's already got a commenting gig off of being her coach. 

Many don't like Patrick 

I need to learn Japanese too

[bosawks]

It is always nice to see a first grand slam for someone but I really need Serena to win just a couple more to kick that jackass Margaret Court out of the record books!

[SrOfficial]

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I don't think little Alexis will be traumatized because her mother lost her temper in a tennis match. 

The kid is all of one year old, so I doubt she will be a trauma.

[roseha]

Poor Naomi.  She totally deserved this victory and the crowd booing like I've never heard at a presentation was just heart breaking.   I only hope that she will have many more Slam victories to come.  Meanwhile, enjoy this one Naomi, it's yours and you earned it.

And yes she is also a delightful person, too bad that got lost in all this as well.

[BitterApple]

*eyeroll* the USTA releasing a statement kissing Serena's ass (right after releasing a statement saying her coach admitted to signaling and all the calls the umpire made were within the rules).

https://m.facebook.com/usopentennis/photos/a.124965457186/10155536207607187/?type=3&ref=m_notif&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic

I'm willing to concede the game penalty was over the top, but the bulk of Serena's tantrums came before that. IMO, there was nothing about her behavior to be proud of today. 

[TVbitch]

Now there's the Serena I know and ...can't stand. Jabbing her finger at the umpire and demanding he supplicate himself to her with an apology. He did not accuse her of cheating. She just has so much entitlement.

I do think the ump should have given her a warning that she was on the verge of another code violation and let the set play out. He knew the crowd would go bezerk, and Osaka was close to winning it anyway, so why blow that shit up like that. Maybe he had enough. Neither of them took Osaka into consideration.    

Oh, and how kind of Serena to tell the booing crowd: "it's okay, she played well." --First of all, they were not booing Osaka, but in any case, how about saying, "she outplayed me and deserved to win." 

[BitterApple]

Changing tack for a moment, I think we could also see some dramatics in the men's final. Djokovic has been a grump lately and those Argentinian fans are verrryyy boisterous.

[Athena]

Always be civil to one another. Do not tell each other how to post. Athletes are fair game, but not your fellow posters or their opinions. If you can't agree, ignore them. If they are rude, report them.

[truthaboutluv]

4 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Yes.  It doesn't help that they have their heads up her ass, but you just know when they're out of earshot they probably talk about her like a dog.

 

4 hours ago, Ohwell said:

She wanted a side show because she knew she was getting her ass whipped.  She either needs to get back in shape (it's hard, I know) or retire because she looked like a hippo out on that court.

Wow...  

Well this certainly turned out to be a shit show didn't it? And yeah, it absolutely sucks for Osaka because she played an amazing match, outplayed Serena in many ways and likely was going to win this match. But now her well-deserved win is marred by this mess.

Here's the thing, it is true that it's been a known fact for years that MANY players/coaches communicate during matches. In fact I think that's why there's even been talk of eliminating the rule. And I know the Rogers Cup this year had the coaches coming down during change overs to coach the players. So yeah, Patrick isn't the only one guilty of it. But as someone noted above, unfortunately he got caught. And whether Serena saw it or not, the fact that Patrick admitted he was doing it means the umpire was justified in his call. 

As someone else noted, this is why as much as I respect Serena's talent and ability, I've never been able to truly be a fan. There's just a little too much drama queen at times with her. I do think that Serena was upset that she was losing and she used the illegal coaching warning as an excuse to rant and bitch about something, as opposed to what she was really mad about - i.e the fact that she was losing. Demanding that the umpire say he was sorry and apologize to her was ridiculous because Patrick WAS illegally coaching her. The fact is Serena and Ramos settled the issue just fine when she first came up to him and said she wasn't accepting any coaching and that she'd rather lose than cheat. It sounded like he calmly told her okay and she walked away.

But then she played a REALLY SHITTY ass game after the break in the second set, causing her to gift the break right back to Osaka, which pissed her off and got her a second violation for the racket abuse. And since she obviously couldn't challenge that call, she brought it back to the illegal coaching to have something to bitch about because what she was truly mad about was that she was losing. Do I think the whole game violation was a bit much - yes. But as someone said, I don't think he did it because she was a woman. I think he did it because he realized that Serena was essentially throwing a temper tantrum because she was losing and using him as her verbal punching bag. So petty on his side, absolutely. But Serena, as was the case the last time something like this happened, allowed herself to get into that position. 

You're losing, you're mad, then channel it into the match. Take your aggression out on the court with the ball. I'm sorry, I don't want to mommy shame but she's the one bringing up her daughter and I would hope she'd teach her daughter to not throw tantrums whenever things don't go her way. You had two violations. Just go to your chair, think about how to get the break back and let that be it. And I'm really not here for her celebrity stans running on their social media to make her a victim (looking at you Shonda Rimes - claiming Ramos was baiting Serena. Those are some bold claims and I'd like to see the evidence. Especially since her ass was how far up in the stands). 

Like I said, this got unnecessarily messy when it didn't have to be and the only person I feel awful for is Osaka who earned that damn title and did not deserve to have her moment marred like this. Man at this point, I just want to have an awesome final from Djokovic and Del Potro. Palate cleanser please...

Edited September 9, 2018 by truthaboutluv

[BitterApple]

The celebrity stans can shut the hell up because aside from showing up at the Open so they can post pictures on their Instagrams, most of them don't know a damn thing about tennis. There's a few who I believe are true fans, but for most it's a "see and be seen" event.

[Stuffy]

So to be clear, whether or not Serena saw the coaching motion, it's still a penalty? Because the side by side footage after the match, showed she never looked in his area.  It looked like his hands were too low for her to see the motion anyway. Also if it's the coach that causes the penalty then a player whose back is turned to their coach could still be penalized? That seems a bit ridiculous. Is there another sport where coaches can't actually coach? The only one I could think of is golf because I don't know the rules, but the caddy can help make decisions which is like coaching. 

 

Not being pro Serena just genuinely curious about the rule.  Also from my many years in sports you never get calls overturned unless the sport uses replay. Arguing is useless. 

Edited September 9, 2018 by Stuffy

[Pepperclove]

Full credit to Naomi, who played a great match and seems to be an awesome person. Also credit to Serena for being gracious to Naomi.

 

I thought the game penalty was completely inappropriate. Serena was right that many of the men chatter at the umpire without consequences. And as the commentators pointed out afterwards, he didn't even warn Serena that she needed to drop it or face another penalty. Serena is a very passionate person, and that's part of what has made her such a great champion. The whole situation was ugly, obviously, but I think the umpire needs to show restraint and let the players decide a grand slam title.

[Jillibean]

33 minutes ago, Stuffy said:

Not being pro Serena just genuinely curious about the rule.  Also from my many years in sports you never get calls overturned unless the sport uses replay. Arguing is useless. 

I think, just as with the time clock, it’s not the rule so much as completely inconsistent enforcement of the rule. Yes, Patrick was coaching, and that’s a rule violation. But what he did wasn’t nearly as blatant as what other coaches have done throughout the tournament, and they didn’t get called on it. Same with the verbal abuse violation—yes, technically she had earned it. But to call it at that point in the match, during the championship match? It seemed like a lack of discretion to me. Quite frankly, I think Ramos was pissed and the penalty was an emotional one. 

 

4 hours ago, sacrebleu said:

Well, to answer @bosawks question, I'm pretty sure it was when Serena told a line judge she would shove a tennis ball down her f*cking throat.

 

2009 US Open? If memory serves...

I believe Serena was only docked a point—it just happened to be match point. 

In very mild defense of the crowd, no one was explaining to them what was going on. I’m sure everyone as confused by the progression of events. The booing was obviously rude and unacceptable, but I’m sure it was very hard for many of the fans to interpret what was going on beyond the fact that suddenly Osaka was up 5-3 instead of 4-3.

[Pallas]

On 9/6/2018 at 11:59 PM, truthaboutluv said:

And not to mention, Serena's been back now on tour for almost a year.

Six months: since Indian Wells in March. 

 

7 hours ago, Stuffy said:

So to be clear, whether or not Serena saw the coaching motion, it's still a penalty? 

Yes, the player is penalized for the coach's actions. The chair umpire chose to enforce a rule rarely called. After that, the racquet abuse call resulted in a one-point penalty -- and the umpire had the option to remind Serena that a third code violation would result in a one-game penalty. (Hell, players who lose a challenge are then reminded of how many challenges they have remaining in the set.) He did not. During the changeover, as Serena angrily criticized him, he had the option of interrupting with that reminder -- and when he didn't, and play resumed, of letting Serena continue to stalk silently back to the baseline. He didn't.

Serena should have let it go. But her job is to play to win.The umpire is there to enforce fair play and exercise good judgment. His job was to protect the integrity of the match, not to win. He won. 

[truthaboutluv]

What I will also say is that I hate this social media driven culture we're in, where many are quick to jump on a bandwagon without doing any of their own homework. It's fine if people believe Ramos was excessive in awarding a game violation for what Serena said to him. But the sexism card people are trying to pull is ridiculous when you go through Ramos' history and realize he's given plenty of male players violations, including one to Andy Murray once for in Ramos' opinion, playing too slowly. 

And people, like Serena's coach, wanting to drag other players into this, like his mentioning how Ramos has umpired many of Rafa's finals and he apparently was getting coached all the time and never had a warning. Putting aside that Rafa has gotten time violation warnings from Ramos, I'm willing to bet that if he ever did get a coaching violation warning, he would LET IT FUCKING GO and not bitch for multiple games after. That's what Serena and her fans and supporters don't want to acknowledge.

That she allows herself to get too heated, she knows the rules, knows how this goes and still gets into some war of words and turns the whole thing into a shit show and then everyone wants to cry sexism and unfairness. This is just like when she lost to Clijsters in that semifinal and some pulled the "if Roger Federer had done this at a crucial time in the match, they wouldn't have allowed the match to end that way". And to that I said, "well when Roger Federer threatens to shove a ball down a linesperson's fucking throat, we can revisit this discussion". 

[Sarahsmile416]

I think the biggest issue that I have with all of this is this whole characterization of Serena as “passionate” - I didn’t see somebody passionate out there, I saw someone acting like a five year old.  

Nobody moreso than her coach who tried to say that it should be legal to slam Her racket so hard that it broke.

if a baseball player threw his bat down or threw his helmet down in anger, there would be consequences, but according to him, Serena is above such things. ?

6 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

What I will also say is that I hate this social media driven culture we're in, where many are quick to jump on a bandwagon without doing any of their own homework. It's fine if people believe Ramos was excessive in awarding a game violation for what Serena said to him. But the sexism card people are trying to pull is ridiculous when you go through Ramos' history and realize he's given plenty of male players violations, including one to Andy Murray once for in Ramos' opinion, playing too slowly. 

And people, like Serena's coach, wanting to drag other players into this, like his mentioning how Ramos has umpired many of Rafa's finals and he apparently was getting coached all the time and never had a warning. Putting aside that Rafa has gotten time violation warnings from Ramos, I'm willing to bet that if he ever did get a coaching violation warning, he would LET IT FUCKING GO and not bitch for multiple games after. That's what Serena and her fans and supporters don't want to acknowledge.

That she allows herself to get too heated, she knows the rules, knows how this goes and still gets into some war of words and turns the whole thing into a shit show and then everyone wants to cry sexism and unfairness. This is just like when she lost to Clijsters in that semifinal and some pulled the "if Roger Federer had done this at a crucial time in the match, they wouldn't have allowed the match to end that way". And to that I said, "well when Roger Federer threatens to shove a ball down a linesperson's fucking throat, we can revisit this discussion". 

All of this. You win the internet today.