Why did Venus Williams not shake hands with umpire at Wimbledon?
The 43-year-old American snubbed the chair umpire after losing in straight-sets to Elina Svitolina
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Venus Williams refused to shake hands with the chair umpire after her first-round loss at Wimbledon on Monday because she disagreed with a contentious call which ended the match.
Williams, playing in the women’s singles at the All England Club for a record 24th time, was hampered by an early slip in her match against Elina Svitolina on Centre Court and succumbed to defeat.
Yet the match did end in controversial circumstances. On match point, Svitolina returned Williams’ serve onto the baseline with the 43-year-old’s subsequent shot bouncing before the net – but an out call came virtually instantaneously from the line-judge.
Ukrainian star Svitolina challenged the call on hawk-eye, with the ball proved to be in. But while Williams clearly expected the point to be replayed, chair umpire Marija Cicak disagreed and awarded the point to Svitolina, thus ending the match.
Williams had a wry smile on her face before shaking hands with her opponent and then opting not to shake Cicak’s hand as is customary, instead shaking her head.
“I completely disagreed with the call,” Williams said, in her post-match press conference.
“It was just that kind of day.”
Speaking about the injury in the third game which derailed her chances, Williams struggled to hide her devastation.
“Grass is inherently going to be slippery,” she added. “You’re going to fall at some point. It was just bad luck for me. I started the match perfectly. I was literally killing it, then I got killed by the grass (laughter).
“Yeah, it’s not fun right now. I felt like I was in great form coming into this tournament, and great form in the match. It’s all very shocking at the moment.
“This is sports. I’m hitting the ball well. Hopefully I can just figure out what’s happening with me and move forward.”
Svitolina, herself returning to the tour after giving birth in October, will play 28th seed Elise Mertens from Belgium in round two.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments