We have to talk about what is happening at Wimbledon with the diva behavior. On one hand, we have Naomi Osaka entering the court like she is some sort of a queen. On the other, Serena Williams is back with yet another example of poor sportsmanship.
The Naomi Show
A couple of years ago, Naomi Osaka was really struggling to perform on the court. During that time, she couldn’t be interviewed by the press, she couldn’t be asked about why she doesn’t play that well on clay, because it was somehow the fault of these ‘nasty’ reporters trying to get into her head.
Journalists always go to the place that hurts because that is what we get paid to do. Everyone can take it except for her.
This year, she arrives at Wimbledon in some head-to-toe white kimono trying to look like, I don’t know, some sort of a goddess, some sort of a queen. I suppose she is now leaning into her fabulousness, and we are all expected to get on board and celebrate Naomi.
Well, it is a no for me. I don’t respect Naomi Osaka at all. She is not tough. She is weak. And only somebody who is weak would walk in needing that kind of attention, as opposed to letting the game speak for itself.
You can’t ask her questions about clay, she is ‘shy,’ she needs mental health counseling, but she is totally entitled to call all this attention to herself in a head-to-toe white kimono as she arrives in Wimbledon? Are we allowed to ask about that? I am not clear on the rules on what you can ask Naomi about and what you can’t because we are all just living in her world.
Serena’s Poor Sportsmanship
And speaking of the weird behavior around the pressers that follow the matches, enter Serena Williams. It should be noted that all of the players speak to the media after they play, and I bet most of them dislike it. That is especially true of the losers because they just lost a match and probably don’t want to be asked about it. It is hard, but it is part of tennis. They all do it – unless you are Serena Williams.
Serena Williams, at age 44, decided to try to reemerge at Wimbledon. Look, hats off to her. She actually is the GOAT of female tennis. I think her numbers are even better than Steffi Graf. But age comes for us all.
Wimbledon awarded Serena a main draw wild card for the singles competition, and she lost in the first round to 20-year-old Australian player Maya Joint. She got beat in three sets. And guess what? She refused to do the press conference after the fact. She is too much of a diva to have to submit herself to the questions of reporters.
The tournament said in a statement that Williams “unfortunately will not be able to undertake media this evening.” Her agent later claimed that she was excused from media obligations due to injury.
“Serena tweaked her knee at the end of the first set and was therefore excused from her media obligations by the Wimbledon and WTA medical teams,” she said in a statement to British outlet The Times. “She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match.”
According to the rule book, media opportunities “enable players to put across their opinions on their performance and provide valuable exposure to the media and fans” and “help drive engagement with the sport.” Violation of the rule can lead to a fine of up to $50,000, but Serena reportedly won’t be forced to pay up.
I am sick of this woman’s behavior. She also has a repeat problem with bad sportsmanship. After this match, she offered a mealy handshake to the woman who beat her. Never mind the fact that, by accepting the wild card, she took the spot of another girl who could have been there ascending in her career because she wanted to see her name in lights again. She got the chance, and then refused to participate in the mandatory post-match press conference.
There is also, of course, her history of on-court antics with the chair umpires and ball people. There was that infamous meltdown at the 2018 U.S. Open against none other than Naomi Osaka, who was just starting out at the time. What I am saying is there is a pattern of behavior and definitely a sense of entitlement that shines whenever she is in the spotlight.
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