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?

A white player returning would not attract the same criticism.

She was remarkable. So many young players would have crumbled in that atmosphere. Well done Maya.

Poor form for not attending the after match conference. Which is considered a must do.

I didnt notice Serena being ungracious in defeat.

We watch a lot of tennis in our household and its quite a usual occurrence for female players to give the briefest of handshakes, compared to men who usually exchange a few words sometimes a sweaty hug.

Im intrigued about the pp who compared serena to Goran ivanisevic. He was 29 when he got the wildcard that gave him the opportunity to win

I don't think that it's reasonable to cast this as some sort of problem for Maya Joint. You'd expect to possibly be up against all kinds of opponents in the first round, from former winners, qualifiers to wild cards. She might have been thrilled to be playing against Serena Williams, and now she has beaten her too.

Isn’t it to show off her weightloss as she promotes some injection or other?

You mean like Harriet Dart? 🤣🤣🤣.

Admittedly I did not watch the entire match, only the second half.

So I did see the end, and thought Serena looked perfectly gracious in defeat. Uncharacteristically so, I'd have said.

Though I didn't realise she did not show up for the after-match conference. I didn't see that and didn't realise it was expected.

Im intrigued about the pp who compared serena to Goran ivanisevic. He was 29 when he got the wildcard that gave him the opportunity to win
Yes, how embarrassing for that poster.

Players can be fined for not turning up to the post match conference. I have always thought that's a bit harsh, especially if you have been thoroughly beaten, you have to sit there and politely answer questions when it might be the last thing you want to do. But, I can see that people choosing to duck out might become common and that's a bit rubbish for the journalists.

I can't imagine that Serena is concerned about getting fined!

Those suggesting it was for the money are deluded. She won something like £30k for losing in the first round. She is thought to be worth something like $500 million dollars.

Look, I know this suggestion is a little out there, but is it possible that Serena actually enjoys playing competitive tennis? And that maybe she was delighted to have the chance to play at Wimbledon again?

Just putting it out there.

I read that she wanted her daughters to see her play.At 44 she was 24 years older than her opponent ,she still played well .I think she may chalk this up to experience . She still plays in the doubles with Venus .(more sensibly she hasnt decided to make a singles comeback)!

That was my thought! She's been doing this for most of her life, is an amazing player, fantastic champion and clearly still loves the game.
Good to see her grace the courts again.

I'm really looking forward to seeing them in the doubles! Incredible women.

Agree about harsh. It sometimes feels like a cruel ritual for the losing player - sitting there with post-shower damp hair, holding back tears and trying to not say anything that could, in any way, be construed as being the words of a sore loser.

I watched the match . She put up a decent flight, at one point i thought she was going to win, but she got tired . She seemed v gracious in defeat, the bit I saw - didn't watch any after match interview.

Was pleased Maya won though.

I expect your response. It's why prolific high achievers in almost any field will continue to receive outsized, acutely unfair criticism based on trivial and petty scrutiny of behaviour that is not remarked on to the same extent in Caucasian players. Serena is faaaaar from the only tennis player to ever appear ungracious in defeat, if indeed she was.

'It isn't happening' is the default position of all long standing injustice and enduring prejudicial biases isn't it?

The nature of our response is the measuring line.

We live in an atmosphere where dismissing racial bias is the counter revolution and the pushback to many years of post modernist social narratives. It's socially acceptable to dismiss and it's almost a prosocial act to trivialise it.

But poor Serena. It never ends not matter what you achieve or how much good you do.

I think it's something that they have to learn. It's part of being a professional player, they speak to sports journalists, their teams give them media training. Serena is a strong woman, in every sense, I'm sure she was ok.

Around £80k for first round loss but I take your point.

What on earth has her skin colour got to do with this. There is absolutely zero reason to be flinging thinly veiled accusations of racism around.

Isn't there a Seniors competition she could enter, I know other sports have them.? By pandering to her ego and giving her a wild card Wimbledon took an opportuinty away from a younger player.

They got to see her kncked out in round 1, she will have cupboards full of silverware at home and hundreds of recordings from her glory days they can look at.

Jimmy Connors was criticised several times in his early career for being ungracious in defeat. Is that racist too ?