What just happened?

Let me begin by saying that while I’m not the most devoted tennis fan, I like tennis. When the big tournaments like Wimbledon or the U.S. Open roll around, I try to watch as many matches as possible. Tennis is the one sport I’d love to be really good at, but I’ve never really taken the time to become a good player. But I like tennis, because it’s somehow a more civilized sport. And while I may not know who is number one in the world or how many matches Roger Federer has won, I like tennis.

But I’ve never been a huge fan of the Williams sisters. I can appreciate their athleticism and give them their due, but I’ve never been a big fan. But on Saturday night, Serena pretty much guaranteed that I would never become a devoted fan. I know some of you who have had to put up with me talking about this ad nausem are tired of hearing about it, but I just can’t get over the way she acted during her semi-final match against the calm, cool, and collected Kim Clijsters (who I was a fan of pre-retirement). In short, what happened is this: a line judge called a foot fault on Serena. She talked to the lines judge, seemed to accept the ruling, then turned around and basically railed on the poor woman. I don’t know if the call was right or not. What I do know is that Serena’s profanity-laced, threatening comments were not right. Yes, frustration with rulings and calls are part of any sport. But tennis probably has one of the best systems in which players can challenge such calls. There was a right way to voice her feelings, and quite frankly, cussing out the line judge probably wasn’t the best option. And if John McEnroe is taken aback by your outburst, it’s probably not a good thing. I’m just saying.

Serena’s actions are particularly out of place within the tennis realm. This is supposed to be the gentleman’s game, the sport that rises above all the craziness of others. This is the sport that used to require all players to wear tennis whites, act with decorum, and refrain from outbursts on the court. I mean, the crowd even used to stay relatively quiet during matches! So for me, Serena’s bad behavior was an affront to the history and integrity of the game. And I didn’t like that. Not one bit.

Finally, Serena is a role model, whether she wants to be one or not. And in every after match interview that I’ve seen, she’s been unwilling to admit she did anything wrong. One commentator asked her if she had maybe let herself get a little out of control and Serena’s answer was something along the lines of “I’m an intense person. That’s the way I am. Things happen during the match and I leave it all on the court.” (I’d like to explain the difference between intense and throwing a temper tantrum to Serena. Kim Clijsters was intense and focused. Serena wasn’t playing well, frustrated, and lost her temper in an amazing display of immaturity, selfishness, and disregard for other people.)

And actually, that’s kind of the point of this post. Serena lost her temper. She got mad; she said whatever she wanted and aimed vindictive, hurtful, profane words at a line judge who was trying to do her job to the best of her ability. I’m not saying that we should never get angry or that I haven’t yelled at someone in anger who didn’t deserve it. But guys, whether you want to admit it or not, you know when you’re losing your temper. There is a moment when you know you have the choice to shut up (and behave like Christ if you’re a Christian) or just go along with the feelings and say whatever you want. And you get to choose what you do.

Serena chose to let anger control her. I’ve chosen the same thing many times, but I hope beyond hope that I never let my anger run away with me the way Serena did on Saturday night.

Plus, Serena could have channeled the frustration into playing better. But she didn’t. And I’d hate to tell her, but she’d lost the match before that call. Kim Clijsters was out playing her. And for the number one women’s tennis player in the world (Serena) who was playing an unranked, wild card player (Clijsters) that had to smart a little.