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?

is it possible that Serena actually enjoys playing competitive tennis?
It didn't look like enjoyment to me! Admittedly, I haven't heard any pre/post match interviews. I just saw some of the second set (you know, the actual tennis) and it didn't look, to me, that she was enjoying it. She never was a joyful player but the amount of not-chasing-after-the-ball looked like her heart wasn't in it.

@JudgeJ that's a criticism of the Wimbledon selectors not of Serena. The wildcards in the mens and womens singles are very similar, lots of young GBR players and a couple of "names" eg Grigor Dimitrov in the mens.

I agree. I thought the young girl handles the situation really well.
The commentators were all about Serena winning at the start of the match, but they changed their tune around the end of the first set.

I know. I said to DH how many more times are they, especially Mcenroe, going to say 4 years 🙈😩

Surely that's just like an aging midfielder doing less running? She'll have known she couldn't chase everything like she used to and needed to choose to chase where it was most likely to bear fruit.

You're right. The tactic worked really well. Oh, wait ...

She never was a joyful player but the amount of not-chasing-after-the-ball looked like her heart wasn't in it.

She wasn't chasing the ball because of her fitness levels. She was no different 10 years ago. I never understood why her opponents just didn't aim the ball to the other side of the court she was on because she'd never run unless she had to!

Oh come on she made a decent match of it. I was just suggesting the fact that she didn't chase everything was more likely to be a concious choice than proof she wasn't enjoying herself.

I think this, about mosts sports to be fair, tennis isnt unique, but its still rubbish.!
At athletics meets/championships they are barely off the track when someone shoves a camera and mic in their face and asks how they feel about not qualifying for the semi final/final of a race theyve trained for, for months if not years! (Obviously gutted and want to go away and cry!! )
See also F1 - they might have crashed, had mechanical failure or bad strategy....and then have to say media friendly things like it was "tough/tricky/unfortunate" etc

I would challenge those people saying it's bad she took a wild card spot from some young, more deserving player. The flip side is she gave a young player the opportunity to play (and beat) SERENA WILLIAMS at Wimbledon! And if you had a ticket for Wimbledon, wouldn't you rather watch her play than some unknown?

I noticed Roger Federer being quite ungracious in (admittedly very rare) defeat if not against Novak Djokovic or Rafa

I've literally never seen a thread complaining that an aging tennis player has entered Wimbledon. Has it never happened before?

Matthew Syed has written (I think) a balanced piece in today's Times about the match.

Well she is the GOAT in terms of records. Over and above Novak even.
I should imagine it was lovely for her DC to see her play.
Endorsement.
Commercial reasons.
She wasn’t a complete walkover, to be fair, and her competitor got to beat the GOAT on Centre Court which is a bit of an accolade.
I still prefer Venus for so many reasons, love to watch her play, but I did tune in.
However, she could nowhere near match what Warinka achieved even though he went out. An absolute warrior who gave it all and missed by the smallest of margins. I absolute love watching him play.
It is an interesting watch so far with so many names dropping out and top seeds like Shelton going.
I still miss Roger, Rafa and Andy. Hope Novak wins today as he’s still a part of that legacy and is such a fantastic player.
In terms of the women I root for Gauff I’d love to see her win it.

Don’t you know…she is a middle aged woman who has success and wants to still push herself to see what she can achieve…that’s perfect for the women on here to try to tear down. 🙄

Tbf Novak Djokovic is pretty unpopular

It’s an odd one as sometimes he gets shown love and other times is iced out.

I think you need to stop seeing racism in every single word or action. You’re making the word meaningless, and that’s all wrong.

He is a drugs cheat though so he should be. Plus the ladies love Roger so hate for the rivals

Every single successful tennis player is a balance of ego and money. You could say the same for every single successful sports star.
They can still be a humble, decent person in their personal lives but you absolutely have to back yourself to become a champion.
And of course money drives them, although I think it’s often a secondary factor.
While playing tennis is usually a solo sport, these players have whole entourages to pay and then of course their agents, who are out there dealing with endorsements and deals.
With these younger players they are now endorsed by major fashion houses, too.
Look at all the deals thrown at Raducanu after the U.S. Open? Tiffany, Porsche etc
And it’s small change when you see what the footballers are getting over at the World Cup.

Did he receive outsized criticism disproportionate to all other male Caucasian players? Does he receive particular stand out criticism particularly from poc?

If yes then it's racially directed bias.

If no, then not.

*Petty though? I think yes.

They would for me. I’ve literally posted about being pleased that Dan Evans didn’t get a wild card. And hating the old white men entering golf majors.

It’s nothing to do with race.

If she had been playing and winning all year that would be different. Incidentally I wouldn’t have given one to Stan Wawrinka either. If you’re not able to play and you’re unlikely to be playing in a few month’s time then you don’t deserve a WC. Race doesn’t come into it.

I love still watching the old players in the veterans tournaments at Wimbledon. But that’s not taking the place of young up and coming talent. Imagine someone getting a wild card who manages to win a round, like Arthur Fery did yesterday. That will fund his life on tour for probably the next four years and possibly enable him to afford to hire a coach sometimes to travel with him. Serena and Dan don’t need this funding.

She got a wildcard. She should have had to qualify, IMO.

She said she wanted her kids to watch her play.

She also probably loves playing competitive tennis.

Why?

She is a former winner of Wimbledon, so she meets the criteria for a wild card as much as the unknowns they give wildcards to.