Cool Things. Volume #5
STAYING CALM FOR THE WIN
In her wildest dreams, Naomi Osaka could not have predicted this.
In her first Glam Slam Final she was not only playing her idol, Serena Williams, she was taking her to town: out serving, out hitting and psych-ing out the heavy favourite. On the line for Osaka: Japan’s first ever Grand Slam title in tennis. For Serena, it was tying Margaret Court’s 24 slam number.
Either way, the match was going to be historic. Unfortunately, it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Near the end of the first set, Williams was given a warning when the umpire saw her coach offering tactical advice* from her box. Williams marched indignantly to the umpire and said she has never been a cheater and would rather lose than cheat. It was an odd, and incorrect, stance to take. A coaching warning doesn’t imply cheating or bad behaviour on the players’ behalf, although it is the player who suffers the consequence.
But it wouldn’t be the only wobble Williams would suffer from.
Enter the second set. Osaka had been rock solid on her serve all night, but her first break gave an increasingly frustrated Williams and the pro-Williams crowd much needed relief. When Osaka responded with a break right back, Williams smashed her racquet and got a second warning – which awarded Osaka the first point of the next Williams’ service game.
Williams, in shock, then quickly furious, argued with the ump about the warning and the point. Whether Williams forgot she already had one warning is anyone’s guess – the rule in tennis is: a warning given isn’t taken back. But Williams had bigger fish to fry. With Osaka up 4-3 in the second, during the changeover Williams called the ump a thief for giving away her point. That resulted in her third warning – a full game penalty. The score was now 5-3 for Osaka.
This is where the match turned into bad reality TV.
Williams unleashed on the ump, then turned to Tournament officials for help. I squirmed watching a teary Williams plead ‘it’s not fair’ over and over, when the official warning system was followed. Her drama became truly cringe-worthy when she accused the ump of sexism, claiming male players do far worse and get away with it on court. I held my breath hoping her rant wouldn’t veer into the unfixable – bringing the race issue into play. Thankfully she didn’t, but by then, the match was tainted.
Williams held for 5-4 but Osaka was brilliant all tournament and held her nerve in the final. Closing out the match with an unreturnable serve, it was remarkable how she held her poise throughout the William’s drama and the crowd histrionics.
Then, in what should have been her finest hour, Osaka had to live through the most awkward trophy presentation.
Shame on the crowd for ruining a young woman’s moment with jeers and boos. And William’s, voice edging into hysterical, telling the crowd to stop and give Naomi her due, it was like she finally saw what all her behaviour had caused – with no way to stop it.
In the end, Williams can only blame herself. She accused the ump of over reacting to her ‘thief’ comment, when she herself overreacted to the coaching warning (arguing the non-issue of being a cheater – carried over into her press conference); overreacted to being broken by Osaka by smashing her racquet, and then, when the ump had enough of her over reactions and gave her a third warning, she overreacted again, dragging the drama into the muddy waters of sexism.
How did Osaka handle all of this?
Like a pro. She kept quiet and focused during William’s tirades and during a tear filled trophy ceremony had the amazing grace to thank the crowd for matching the watch. Then she bowed towards Williams, saying how grateful she was to play against her. A true class act.
After the match, The Women’s Tennis Association issued a statement which included this line: There are matters that need to be looked into that took place during the match. I will be shocked if there is any wrongdoing found with the ump and his calls. Despite Williams’ #metoo battle cry of sexism, this is so far off the mark and indulging it is a slippery slope. Men get their fair share of warnings.
What needs to be addressed is Williams, because her unsportsmanlike behaviour isn’t a one off.
Despite the WTA’s claim of “Serena at all times plays with class”, in two other US Open finals, Williams tangled with officials with detrimental results. In the ‘09 match with Kim Clijsters, she threatened to jam a ball down a lines woman’s throat for issuing a foot fault. Williams’ tirade eventually drew a second warning – a match point awarded to Clijsters. In the ’10 final against Sam Stosur, Williams called the ump a loser and a hater after she issued a warning to Williams for shouting inappropriately during the match.
In my world, that’s not class. And glossing over this type of behaviour is bad for tennis. Yes, Williams is a star, but ongoing tantrums that sully the sport on its biggest stages are plain wrong.
No athlete likes to lose. Yet it’s impossible to always win. Williams expects to win. The crowd, the commentators, and yes, sometimes even her opponents expect her to win, too. But she should take a page out of Osaka’s playbook. If there was any takeaway from the ’18 US Open Women’s Tennis final it’s this:
Staying calm is the new black.
Hats off to Osaka!
* For the record, Williams’ coach, Patrick, admitted he was guilty of coaching from the box. But instead of leaving it at that, he minimized his guilt by claiming every coach does that 365 days a year. He followed that statement with the claim he’d never been warned for coaching from the box. Which really meant, he does it; he just hasn’t been caught. And while many of the sports rules – coaching, time between serves etc. – are enforced intermittently (frustrating coaches and players) they are still rules and can be enforced at any time, Grand Slam Finals included.
