Venus Williams has inspired many generations, but on Monday, she failed to live up to her reputation. The tennis legend put up an incredible fight on Wimbledon Centre Court after getting injured in her already battered knee. Eventually, she lost 6-4, 6-3, but worse of it, she left the court not graciously.
Venus Williams ignored umpire Marija Cicak as she made her way to her chair to gather her bag, and it was obvious that match point had left her with a bad taste in her mouth.
Williams did not put the ball back after Svitolina’s well-placed return was called out by the baseline umpire, but the Ukrainian disputed the decision.
HawkEye replays confirmed that the ball had hit the line, thus instead of replaying the point, Cicak ruled that Williams was unaffected by the “fault” call and proclaimed “game, set, match Svitolina.”
Williams replied with a sarcastic smile and a head shake, then walked up to the net to congratulate Svitolina before completely disregarding the Croatian umpire. That was awkward and even the commentators tried not to talk about the episode.
Venus was blasted on social media. Unfortunately, that was not the right way to leave the Centre Court after so many great memories.
Venus Williams disappointed with the end of the match against Elina Svitolina.
She shakes her head as she walks toward the umpire after the match.
pic.twitter.com/JOtV7UCEA4— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 3, 2023
Bit ironic that as the commentators were saying what a great champion Venus has been, with good grace and respect for everyone, Venus leaves the court having not shaken hands with the umpire, not bothering to wait for her opponent and barely acknowledging the crowd!
— Helen Q⁷ (@HelenQMe2U) July 3, 2023
Venus Williams in 2023
LL Now ranked no.558, Venus played her last match on the 3rd of July when she was defeated by world no.76 Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3 in the 1st round in Wimbledon (draw).
This season Venus Williams has achieved a composed 2-4 win-loss record.
Svitolina in Wimbledon, ranking, and results in 2023
LLWLWLLWLW Now ranked no.76, Elina achieved an overall 13-8 win-loss record in 2023. Svitolina is playing at the moment in Wimbledon where she overcame
Elina Svitolina will play the world no.28 Elise Mertens in the 2nd round. The head to head is 3-2 for Svitolina.
The Ukrainian clinched 1 title in 2023 in Strasbourg.
Elina won 17 titles in her career: 9 on hard courts, 6 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
She is also scheduled to play in Washington (Mubadala Citi DC Open) on the 31st of July and U.S. Open (U.S. Open) on the 28th of August.
Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina played each other 5 times. The head to head is 4-1 for Svitolina. Previously, the last time they locked horns, Elina Svitolina won 6-4 6-3 in the 1st round in London (Wimbledon) on the 3rd of July 2023.
