Serena Williams skipped her required post-match press conference after her Wimbledon exit, igniting a furious backlash Tuesday night, with critics accusing the 44-year-old of “classless” behavior hours after a stunning first-round loss ended her comeback in singles competition.
Williams held a wild-card entry worth nearly $132,000 combined across singles and doubles, and Grand Slam rules require players to attend the mandatory post-match media session. Ducking it reopened old questions about her relationship with reporters, even as she chose to keep her stated reason hidden for another day.
GettySerena Williams of United States and Maya Joint of Australia shake hands Joint’s victory over the comebacking tennis legend on Tuesday.
Serena Williams’ Press Snub Fuels Backlash
Williams lost 6-3, 7-6 (6), 6-3 to 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint on Centre Court, in her first Grand Slam match in four years. The crowd gave her a standing ovation. She left without stopping at the interview room, and Wimbledon instead circulated a statement in her name, saying she was unable to speak with media that evening.
“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything,” Williams said in the statement, quoted by Yahoo Sports.
Australian outlet news.com.au ran the headline that Williams had been “torched for [a] classless act,” and the outlet wasn’t alone. Fans and commentators pointed to a brief, businesslike handshake with Joint at the net as evidence Williams was avoiding the loss rather than resting up, and noted she never publicly credited her opponent, a rising player 24 years her junior.
“Rules are rules… unless you are Serena Williams,” outspoken tennis commentator Pav Gill wrote, adding that Williams had “played” Wimbledon and that “the arrogance of Serena is something else,” as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“Impressed at how hard Serena Williams fought tonight. Not impressed that she refused to do her obligatory media conference. Having been given a wildcard by Wimbledon. That’s not on,” tennis commentator Simon Cambers wrote, according to the New York Post.
Getty20-year-old Australian Maya Joint stunned Serena Williams by ending the tennis legend’s Wimbledon comeback bid.
Serena Williams’ Knee Injury Explains Press Snub
The furor cooled somewhat Wednesday, when Williams’ team offered an explanation nobody had heard courtside. Her knee was “tweaked” late in the first set, and tournament doctors pulled her from her media obligations before she ever left the grounds.
“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,” agent Jill Smoller said in a statement quoted by the New York Post. “She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match.”
Crutches were reportedly brought to Williams’ locker room afterward. She walked out on her own instead. The injury has cast real doubt on her doubles reunion with sister Venus Williams, a pairing that hasn’t won Wimbledon together since 2016 and is scheduled to face Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio Thursday, according to Tennis Majors.
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