US Open 2009: Serena foot fault, should it have been more diplomatic?

FYI,that should read: should it HAVE been, not should it of been. And as to poll question, Serena was way out of line and most likely will and should face further sanctions/penalties for her actions.

Are you kidding me? A poll on whether it could have been handled more diplomatically? You obviously don’t know the game of tennis. It doesn’t matter when it is called during the match; a foot fault is a foot fault on the first point or on match point. Rules are rules.

It was behavior not befitting of a tennis champion and that’s always been my gripe with her. She conducts herself like a self-absorbed child too many times. As far as a diplomatic solution, that’s just bogus.

They didn’t really have any choice but to give her a code violation at that point. If she had argued with the chair umpire a bit they would have let her get away with it but you can’t go after a line judge like that and not get penalized for it. Too bad that the match ended that way but the officials acted correctly, it was Serena who should have been more diplomatic. You don’t change the rules based on the player or situation.

Young people look to these athletes as larger than life role models in today’s world. Without an apology for her outrageously bad behavior, her reputation will forever be diminished and rightfully so. After such a tirade, can you imagine if she had won the match and moved on to win the tournament… what message would have been sent. It’s befitting that two very deserved individuals will go for the title.. both are terrific representatives of the future of woman’s tennis.. (but inside, don’t ya just gotta root for Mom!).

She is a professional player so she knows the rules. She lost her temper on a bad moment, that’s it.

Curious the comments posted here so far…

The real interest to me is whether she committed the foot fault at all. It doesn’t matter that she had a history of foot faults in the past. I saw the replay during the match. You could not see the foot fault on the replay. Her feet looked on okay position.

What if on replay it shows there is no foot fault. All those claiming she is a spoiled brat and doesn’t follow the rules would sound like fools.

At their level, when they have 100 cameras pointed at them, these athlete should have the benefit of an overhead camera pointed at their feet that they can turn to for any foot fault calls in the future. Look at how much the computer eye has changed line calls.

The important point is that players should win or lose based on their skills, and not on bad calls by linesmen. This applies in any sport.

In the end, I felt cheated as a fan. They should have a method of reviewing that foot fault call, and overturning it if it was bogus. They could then have replayed the point from 15-30, and we as fans could have seen the legitimate outcome. It was ridiculous to have the game turn from 15-30 to suddenly a double match point and then to be over without a point played.

Maybe if you spent month training hours every day and then end up having your tournament position lost because of a bad line call, you may have a different opinion.

Bottom line – the win or loss of the player should be focussed on the players playing the points, and not on line calls. If she had indeed faulted, then the points are valid, but the margin of calls is ridiculously small. They need to change the method of foot faults.

there should be a poll whether she the penalty should have been more severe. Not whether it was handled diplomatically. Till yesterday I admired Serena for her personality, but after hearing the replay on CBS, I should say it was way out of line. With yesterday’s tirade she has lost millions of fans and I am one of them. She should be penalized more to make sure players are in control always.

I thought the TV video was enough to see that her foot was on the line, just couldn’t tell exactly how much.

Conveniently missing are the definitive camera shots of the foot fault. This is a sport with more cameras that you can count, and that tracks line violations all the time. Obviously the call was correct or we would be seeing all the proof that it was an error.

Regardless of such proof, you have to accept the line-person’s call, that is how the rules are enforced, and she did have the best angle. And yes, that is in spite of the TV commentator saying there was no foot fault, and that the call should not have been made. When SHOULD it be called? How about a rule like “there are no foot faults in important matches.”? Or “no foot faults if the person you call it on can’t handle it”.

And, Dick, what is “over-officiating”. Making a call at a critical time in an important match is now somehow over-doing it? So I guess Dick did think there was a foot fault? An how much of a foot fault should be allowed? Half an inch is OK after the third round of major tournaments? Better put another line on the court for that one…and another judge.

Can’t we get some commentators who will stand up for the rules being enforced consistently regardless of the player or the situation.

Given her extensive training and experience, there is no way Serena should have had her foot close enough to the line to be questioned. Obviously she knows that it IS an advantage to get as close as possible to the net on serve, and that is why she was close. That is also why there is a rule. So she gets too close and she gets burned. She’s got to accept it, it was her fault. She knew a call was possible and she had to accept that risk.

Immature and self absorbed may not be strong enough to describe her. And she doesn’t even apologize? Not even to her racket?

I praise the official who made the call and the officials who enforced it. That is what gives meaning and integrity to these tournaments.

BUT in my opinion Serena should have been banned from tennis for breaking her racket, and I’m sure it wasn’t the first time… So where are the real rules here? Tennis just continues to condone bad behavior tournament after tournament, just like the NFL, etc…

I cannot believe that that ‘bimbo’ of a line judge called a foot fault so late in the set. Serena and Kim had 1.6 million dollars on the line and this fool called a foot fault to throw the game. Firstly, the line judge made an error. Secondly, she lied when she claimed that Serena said, “…kill you!” Thirdly, Serena’s claims should have outweighed those of the line judge. How would these fools feel if Serena decides not to play the US Open in 2010? They would certainly lose fans and money.

Serena should be asked to apologize publicly or be suspended, she may have a reason to be angry, but the things she said and the words she used should never be tolerated.
I applaud Mary Carillo, she\’s the only commentator with guts who\’s courageously expressing herself on this.
And to those who think the linesperson should be fired, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. If foot fault shouldn\’t be called on a second serve during a critical point of the game, then get rid of that rule or modify the rules of the game.
The USTA now is saying even if the incident happened at the start of the game, serena would have been ejected and disqualified because of her bahavior.