Serena obviously wasn't happy that she had lost, but she was perfectly pleasant in answering questions, there and in other interviews on Saturday. So I've been surprised at how many people have referred to her as a "sore loser," suggesting that she isn't gracious enough in defeat.
ESPN.com even has a piece up in which the Williams sisters' mom, Oracene Price, says she'd like to see her youngest daughter deal better with losing:
I really have no problem with the way Serena acts after a loss, either to her sister or to anyone else. No, she doesn't always answer every last reporter's question after she loses, but she doesn't unleash profane tirades toward reporters, either. Just because she's unhappy after she loses, that doesn't make her a sore loser.For her mother's part, however, she believes it's time for Serena to grow up and experience a reality check on life in the real world.
"Well, you know, she's going to have to learn how to suck things up," Price said. "[She needs to] say, 'OK, I'm not going to win everything. This is going to make me a better person. This will build character for myself and I have to learn how to lose. I might not be happy about it, but I just have to go on, go on and say, you know what, I didn't get this one, but I'm getting the next one.'"
Serena Williams
Lisa Raymond right, of the US and Australia's Samantha Stosur hold their runnerup trophies aloft after losing the women's doubles final against Venus and Serena Williams of the US on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 5 , 2008. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
AP
Serena Williams right, and her sister Venus embrace after their win in the Women's Doubles final against Australia's Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond of the US on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP
Serena Williams right, and her sister Venus celebrate after their win in the women's doubles final against Australia's Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond of the US at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP
Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus celebrate after their win in the Women's Doubles final against Australia's Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond of the US on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
AP
Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus celebrate after their win in the Women's Doubles final against Australia's Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond of the US on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
AP
Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus celebrate after their win in the Women's Doubles final against Australia's Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond of the US on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
AP
Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus celebrate after their win in the Women's Doubles final against Australia's Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond of the US on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
AP
Serena Williams left, and her sister Venus celebrate after their win in the women's doubles final against Australia's Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond of the US at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
AP
LONDON - JULY 05: Venus Williams of United States and Serena Williams of United States celebrate match point and winning the women's doubles Final match against Lisa Raymond of United States and Samantha Stosur of Australia on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 5, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Getty Images
LONDON - JULY 05: Venus Williams of United States and Serena Williams of United States celebrate match point and winning the women's doubles Final match against Lisa Raymond of United States and Samantha Stosur of Australia on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 5, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Getty Images
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
7-06-2008 @ 10:29PM
dm said...
Serena is NOT a sore loser.
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7-06-2008 @ 10:55PM
Max said...
It is odd how Serena is so easilly tagged with that label. Just today we see Federer attempt to blame his loss on the lack of light. Talk about a sore loser. And yet you won't see hardly any commentators call him a sore loser. Certainly no the press. There's a double standard. Is it just because of race? Probably not. But it's certainly one big component.
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7-15-2008 @ 5:21PM
R said...
Roger did not attempt to shift the blame. It is a fact the lighting was poor. They should have stopped play..but because of TV and the level of the event...they let it go on.
7-06-2008 @ 10:56PM
George B Vieto said...
At least Serena did not make a Jim Mora coulda shoulda woulda tirade. She is not a sore loser. She just needs to learn from her losses and get better at her tennis game.
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7-06-2008 @ 10:59PM
miki said...
She is a sore loser and a real bad person to be around. The media has known this for many years but no one had the balls to come out and say it. She's c-r-a-z-y and pretty mean to everyone. Maybe this time she wasn't THAT bad. but it's her f-up history that's catching up with her. If you start digging lots will pop up.
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7-16-2008 @ 8:36AM
Sieben said...
your so far out of line ,your on another court , I have had the honor and pleasure of meeting and being in the company of this young lady and what you stated is TOTALLY FALSE
7-07-2008 @ 12:55AM
Ryan said...
I'd spank her
http://www.collegefastbreak.com/
Reply
7-07-2008 @ 7:22AM
charlie said...
I was always told that if you were a good loser, then you would be a loser. You should never be happy after suffering a loss. I thought Serena acted as nice as anyone should have expected.
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7-07-2008 @ 7:30AM
merlisa said...
I don't see how her comments are those of a sore loser. She was just coming off the court. She said she's happy for her sister. What is sore about that?
I think the Williams sisters are quit graceful, considering they have been the top US womens players for years, making history, and all the commericals on tennis in the US feature Russian Sharapova.
They have more than 16 grand slam titles between them and they get no respect.
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7-07-2008 @ 7:30AM
Becky Stevenson said...
Let me tell you, the media blows these two up like there is no tomorrow. That Mary Jo Fernandez going on, and on, and on, about Serena and Venus. There are other players that are very good, but the chose to show all their matches over and over and over.
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7-07-2008 @ 7:31AM
gradyapex7 said...
I don't know anyone who's competitive who isn't a sore loser. Tiger isn't a good loser...Jordan wasn't a good loser and nor was Larry Bird. Part of being a great champion is the will to win which means you abhor losing. Perhaps Serena needs to get better at doing interviews in which she fools all of you critics into believing she was gracious about a loss. Yet, I don't want her to lose her edge and to begin accepting losing. No way Serena!!
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7-07-2008 @ 7:33AM
Otto said...
Please explain to me why anyone with a competitive bone in his/her body wants to lose graciously?
Signed,
John McEnroe
Reply
7-15-2008 @ 1:26AM
Clémenet Desaulniers said...
Well quoted, I could not agree more.
7-07-2008 @ 7:35AM
KAL31 said...
I'm a huge Serena and Venus fan. But I have to admit that I was very surprised that Serena wasn't more happy for her sister and more gracious in her loss to Venus. Venus has always been extremely happy for her Serena after a grand slam loss. Serena didn't seem to have any problems showing how happy she was after defeating Venus in the past. Venus would always smile, congratulate her little sister and even take pictures of her holding her trophy. She didn't even congratulate Venus on the court on Saturday during the trophy ceremony. Her sister has 5 Wimbledon titles! Don't you think she could have put her own feelings aside for a few minutes to help her sister celebrate?
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7-07-2008 @ 7:36AM
Leslie T said...
OH PLEASE>>>>Don't mix disappointment up with being a sore loser..The Media needs a life.
a fellow Palm Beach Gardens resident
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7-07-2008 @ 7:42AM
James R Quinn said...
There was no news in the graciousness of her comments. ZERO. Clearly she was disappointed, but a sore loser? Oh Puleeze.
The media are the sore losers, the couldn't get what they wanted so they simply got negative to create attention to their articles.
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7-07-2008 @ 7:47AM
MJ said...
miki......you're obviously an idiot! you know nothing about her personally or professionally,yet you want to claim that the only reason the media hasn't crucified her is because they are afraid. When was the last time the media was afraid to crucify anybody.let alone a female tennis player. Oh....you must mean they are afraid to criticize her because she's black! Which is probably the same reason you want to criticize her....but hey.....I won't jump to conclusions about you.......no....I'm lying....because I have already come to the conclusion that you're an idiot! Think about it.......if the media is so afraid to criticize, then what is it I can dig into to find out about her? As for being crazy.........and her history.......please do inform us all on your vast experience and knowledge about her!
Next time somebody loses at Wimbledon and is still jumping for joy, you let me know! Serena has as many overall championships as Venus, I think she'll be ok.
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7-07-2008 @ 7:47AM
John said...
If I were to lose to anyone, I would love for it to be my sister or brother. Serena and Venus live in the same home. The 2.5 million dollars is coming into the same household. I would only feel bad for a minute. Congratulations ladies, you both defeated a lot of people to get to the championship many times. You deserve the best. Now, can you lend me five dollars for a happy meal. Smile.
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7-07-2008 @ 7:50AM
bcrd500 said...
All people handle losses in different ways, Jimmy Connors normally commented with his finger whenever he lost a match.
The media would rather talk to the loser of such a match because they are hoping for some type of comment that will get headlines. The media should interview the winner and leave the loser alone.
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7-07-2008 @ 7:52AM
JJ said...
Venus won graciously, giving credit to her opponent for making her play harder; and Serena lost graciously, expressing her respect for the winner and acknowledging Venus' superiority in this match.
I love these sisters.
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