Serena Williams - why did she enter Wimbledon?

[deedee176]

Surely not for the money. For the love of tennis and the winning buzz? Or was she being a bit delusional or arrogant to think she could be a top class sportsperson at 44. She was one of the worlds best and highest achieving athletes - her tennis legacy is unmatched.
AIBU to think she should not have entered Wimbledon?

Not 'any' criticism. Criticism, that doesn't appear to be justified. Criticism that appears to be paltry, mean spirited, mincing, overly exacting for the supposed topic of critique and thus unfair.

In Serena's case this sort of critique has been a mainstay feature of her career. If you're a poc you feel it. And you know it when you hear it. The same thing happens with other female women of colour achieving and doing well in other fields.

I don't think anyone here is a racist. But I do hear some bias in some of the comments. We all have bias. I definitely have bias when the subject involves someone rich and wealthy for e.g. actually, maybe especially someone rich, white and wealthy born into wealth. I have to check myself and ask myself (and sometimes God) if I am being truly unbiased or reacting to my own stereotypical schemas, or if the topic is swinging in that direction to begin with. We can get over our biases when we actually listen to others who accuse us of it and question if they might be right. And even if we think they're wrong,question why they feel that way. What is it that they see or experience that has passed by our own perceptual abilities. Why are they being defensive? I have found there is always some basis for it, even if I don't accept it fully.

It's pretty sad to me that any person can achieve all that Serena has coming from where she has, and yet face this sort of trivial criticism. She is the very embodiment of the often quoted 'you can be anything you want to be with determination and hard work' that flippantly bandied pro-capitalist quotation, a leader in showing women can level up a sport in the same way men can, and yet there is almost a kind of spiteful enjoyment and contemplation in her failure. We Brits do tend to enjoy hashing over the well to do failing, we're unlike Americans in that way, it's definitely a feature of the culture, but in Serena's case seeing articles and commentary over the years, that has been amplified and that is because of her class, colour, and sex.

So there shouldn't be this naive 'oh how can you possibly draw that conclusion, you're so awful' as if it hasn't been happening and we don't live in a world where being non-white doesn't exert any pressure and doesn't drive any narratives.

I can't find 100% confirmation online from any tennis authorities that they are, so am happy to be corrected, but all the reports today mention 'the mandatory press conference'.

I dont know - part of me thinks it was arrogance in thinking she would win easily (which she probably regretted after she lost) but the mother in me says it could have been so her children could see what their mother did before she had them - i feel sad for then they never got to see her at the top of her game - because Serena was absolutely outstanding. Maya would NEVER have beaten Serena at the top of her game, so this isnt really 'beating Serena' - and i think its a shit memory for Maya as lets be honest - all the commentators were talking about was Serena - which was pretty bad.. Also - shes finally admitted shes on the jabs hasnt she - its pro also to promote that...so really - this isnt a 'comeback' - its more a money thing..

I enjoyed the game, she will have enjoyed the competition, both players really wanted to win. Tennis has been her life, it must have felt great to back on Centre Court, she will be in a world of pain today with muscle ache.

Wimbledon doesn’t need promoting but the match increased viewing figures, Maya got more coverage, I hope she continues well in tournament. Williams would have got a wedge in sponsorship dollars.

in short it was a Win for everyone.

Saying 'Money and her ego. She was ungracious in defeat' isn't unjustified, 'paltry, mean spirited' or 'overly exacting' (I don't know what you mean by 'mincing' in this context).
I can well imagine if, say, Aryna Sabalenka did the same, or Katie Boulter, or Marin Cilic, or Arthur Fery, people would say the same. I would think the same.

I watched the match on tv and thought the commentators were talking up Maya as well.

the lack of press conference may be due to the time it finished and the fact that her children are so young!

I think I'm wrong having done a Google.

Because she can.

No. I always think the greats should preserve the memory of what they were. Same with Mike Tyson. It must be ego assuming you can -somehow - pick up where you left off. Things like this always tarnish the reputation a little. I wish someone would say ‘just don’t do it!’

Good on her. She's only 44 and she could.

She got a wildcard obvs and maybe that should have been given to a young player rather than someone who has a had a huge career and certainly isn't viably going to resume that. The points and prize money even from a first round exit are hugely helpful for an up and coming player.

I think it was entertainment, I think the crowd enjoyed it but I doubt any of them bought their ticket based on seeing her and there was a huge cringe factor of "please don't let her go out badly in straight sets". Overall I'm not sure what it really achieved tbh.

I would. Where is there any mention of race in that statement?

Martina Navratilova played at Wimbledon aged 47. Didn’t see any criticism of her…

Serena Williams get a huge amount of unnecessary criticism the same type aimed at Lewis Hamilton Jude Bellingham.. Marcus Rashford…

Just an fyi Margaret Court has won more Opens than Serena Williams so she's not unmatched in that respect.

That’s an absolutely unwarranted extrapolation. I’ll start by stating the obvious that unconscious bias is a very real issue, but that doesn’t mean it’s ok to insinuate that an individual is demonstrating unconscious bias to the tune of racism based on extremely tenuous/non-existent evidence. It’s a very serious accusation.

The majority of Margaret Courts wins were the Australian Open. Played at a time when no other top players played due to the distance and time to travel. So think Serena’s achievements are more worthy. She’s had to beat the best

Quite. I’ve reported @letmedowngentle for it too.

It was a good match. She can still hold her own with the best in the world.

And many did about Lindsay Vonn for example. No one questioned whether that was about the colour of her skin.

41 and female, yes. Not the colour of her skin.

Maybe because she missed it and wanted to see if she could do it and challenge herself. There are all sorts of reasons why someone might return. I loved watching it yesterday. She still has the aura and it she’s enjoying it, why the hell not. She was competitive and if fit wasn’t for a mistake that shifted momentum could have won. She’ll always have her legacy but maybe she’s just doing something for her now.

Even if she lost, her kids got to see her, she got to do centre court at Wimbledon again and soak in the atmosphere.

Margaret Court won 13 opens outside Australia and Serena Williams won 16 outside Australia. I would say that makes them fairly equal but Miss Court is slightly better. Obviously she played top players when she won Wimbledon 3 times.

i disagree.There’s a saying “Humble in victory, gracious in defeat”.
Serena wasn’t gracious, a limp wristed congratulations if there ever was one. Not forgetting the sycophantic and cringy fawning of the commentators. Barely a mention of Maya Joint, a talented young woman for sure.

What on earth has race to do with this? The issue is age. No athlete is going to be at the top of their game forever. Trying to turn this into a race issue is disingenuous.

I was furious watching the match last night on the BBC - the commentators barely mentioned Maya Joint - a 20 year old playing her first round match in Centre Court. The crowd were completely against her as well from the word go, and even in victory, the interviewer only asked her questions about Serena. Every headline this morning is about Serena too. Wimbledon should never have allowed it - it was to promote her weight loss jabs and her ego, nothing more - and she was still lumbering round the court like a walrus. She was anything but match fit and everyone knows you lose muscle on GLP1.

I've written a very cross email to the BBC this morning I'm still so angry that a young player was completely whitewashed in their commentary. They must have had to pull themselves out of Serena's arse post match.

A lengthy and quite patronising post which assumes I'm not aware of the things you highlight. Your final paragraph in particular attributes to me an opinion I didn't express. My original point was valid: by your measure, any criticism is deemed racist. 🤷‍♂️