Tennis fans were incensed by Venus Williams’ conduct during her first-round loss to Elina Svitolina at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
At the grasscourt Major, Williams had a good opening, breaking the Ukrainian’s serve early to take a 2-0 lead in the first set. The former World No. 1 suffered a setback when, while volleying at the net, she slipped and fell. She shouted, grasping her previously taped leg, her pain obvious.
Venus Williams needed a medical break, but she had trouble getting back into the game. As a result, Svitolina won the first set and moved ahead 5-3 in the second. After Svitolina’s final forehand was initially ruled out by the line judge, the match ended with a dramatic moment. The Ukrainian challenged the ruling, and the chair umpire decided to assign the point to Svitolina without replying to the point.
Williams jerked her head in disbelief after the umpire’s ruling, probably expecting the point to be reviewed. After shaking hands with Svitolina at the net, the American made it clear that she was upset at the ruling by refusing to shake the chair umpire’s hand, instead shaking her head and turning to face him once more.
Venus Williams’ refusal to shake the umpire’s hand following the match drew criticism from a number of fans who didn’t also appreciate Wimbledon’s Instagram account celebrating Venus.
A fan wrote: “Sorry Venus lacks sportsmanship when she did not shake the umpire’s hand!!”
Another one: “Awful sportsmanship at the end of the match, disrespectful and stomping off court without shaking umpires hand!”
Many fans were not impressed with Wimbledon offering a wildcard to the 43-year-old. A fan wrote: “A 55000 pound classless display of poor sportsmanship. Wimbledon, get your act together and give those wild cards to players who really need them and would be grateful.”
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Venus Williams in 2023
LL Now ranked no.558, Venus played her last match on the 3rd of July when she capitulated to world no.76 Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3 in the 1st round in Wimbledon (draw).
Currently, during this season the American has achieved an overall 2-4 match record.
Svitolina in Wimbledon, ranking, and results in 2023
LLWLWLLWLW Now ranked no.76, Svitolina has a compiled 13-8 match record in 2023. The Ukrainian is now competing in Wimbledon where she defeated the world no.558 Venus Williams 6-4 6-3.
Elina Svitolina will square off with the world no.28 Elise Mertens in the 2nd round. Their actual head to head record is 3-2 for Svitolina.
Elina conquered 1 title in 2023 in Strasbourg.
The Ukrainian 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 at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open) after Washington. The main draw will start on the 31st of July.
Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina squared off 5 times. Their record is 4-1 for Svitolina. Previously, the last time they fought against each other, Elina Svitolina won 6-4 6-3 in the 1st round in London (Wimbledon) on the 3rd of July 2023.
Here the video highlights.
