Serena Williams is an American Professional tennis Player. Serena is known for her hard play and dedication for tennis, and her many achievements like being a four-time Olympic gold medalist. She was born in Michigan but moved to Compton at a very young age. At age three her father started training Serena and Serena’s Sister, Venus Williams to play tennis. In 1995, at age 14 Serena went pro. After High School, she signed a 12$ million shoe deal with Puma. In 2002 The Women’s Tennis Association ranked her number one. She was ranked number one on seven other occasions. Serena Williams has won the second-most singles titles (23) in women’s Grand Slam tournaments of all time; she earned her 23rd after beating Venus Williams in the Australian Open Final.
Recently, at the 2018 U.S Open. Serena lost her match 4 to 6 to 20 year old, Naomi Osaka. Serena had an outburst towards the umpire who accused Serena of cheating when she received coaching and then smashed one of her rackets in which caused the referee to take one of her points away during her loss to Naomi Osaka. Serena went on to tell the umpire that she is not a cheater and has never cheated in her life and that he owed her an apology. Serna also called him a thief for taking a point away which was considered verbal abuse. She argued that her punishment was unfair and that male players don’t get any penalties for worse cases and feels the umpire was being sexist. Serena was found up to $17,000$ for breaking three code violations. $10,000 for verbal abuse, $4,000 for being warned for coaching and, $3,000 for smashing her racket. Serena tweeted “ Several things went very wrong at the U.S Open Women’s finals today. “. She also said “ I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things. I’m here fighting for women’s rights, women’s equality and all kinds of stuff. For me to say ‘thief’ and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He’s never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief.’ For me, it blows my mind, but I’m going to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to have equal coordination, to be able to take our shirt off on the court without getting a fine. This is outrageous.”
Some news outlets and media are calling Serena’s outburst a “tantrum.” Others are calling Serena a sore loser. Many are saying Serena could have handled the situation differently or at a more appropriate time. As an athlete, I think Serena did the right thing for speaking up about what she believes in. She has inspired others or future players to speak up when things aren’t right. She has a lot of bravery to speak up like that.
Serena has worked very hard for all her accomplishments and to get where she is today. Her dedication is unique, and it pays off, she has made history in women’s tennis. Although many think Serena could have chosen a better moment to address the sexist issue, she believes taking advantage of her platform to discuss issues will help the next player, even if it may not work this time.