# I pit the umpiring conspiracy against the Williams sisters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 9, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737 "2004-09-09T04:47:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/21 "2004-09-09T13:25:04Z")
Many a true word and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/22 "2004-09-09T13:28:14Z")
Bad calls because they’re black? Hell, they’re lucky they’re not _Irish._ The Wimbledon umps would probably be trying to pick them off mid-court with small arms fire. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/23 "2004-09-09T13:38:55Z")
Ah, the great J.P. McEnroe. Great player, great line judge, great commentator. And great catalyst for professionalism among officials. I saw that great tie-break against Borg in 1980 while holidaying in Bulgaria. Just think what an asset he would be for the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/24 "2004-09-09T13:41:30Z")
Thanks, **roger**. **D\_Odds** , she didn’t say anything that indicated that it was a joke, and I don’t think she sounded like she was kidding. ESPN quotes her as saying “I guess the lady didn’t want me to be in the tournament anymore. I really prefer if she not umpire my courts anymore, because she’s obviously anti-Serena.” Later, she said “I’m very angry and bitter right now. I felt cheated. Shall I go on? I just feel robbed. At first I thought it was another Wimbledon conspiracy,” Williams said. “If you look at it that way, it does seem like a coincidence, right?” I don’t think coincidence was the word she wanted there. She did half-laugh after “I just feel robbed,” but I don’t think it was a joke. Not a complete joke, anyway. Sorry about fucking up the umpire’s name. As every article on the subject notes, the moron is Maria Alves, and she’s the one who deserves a kick in the head. Sandra de Jenkin has done some other night matches at the Open and her name stuck in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/25 "2004-09-09T13:49:51Z")
You’re allowed one little mistake, **Marley**. I was beginning to think you weren’t human! It’s sad to see little sportsmanship left in professional sport. You notice it much more when players practise together - like in the good old days. Then they’ll nod to the umpire or do what it takes for the umpire to come to the right decision. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/26 "2004-09-09T14:00:54Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > You’re allowed one little mistake, **Marley**. I was beginning to think you weren’t human! When it comes to tennis… and I’ve been watching even more of the Open this year than I normally do. Players do often practice together. Before and after Agassi beat the crap out of Sargis Sargsian in their match the other day, much was made of the fact that they sometimes train together and get on well. At a practice day during the Open, I once saw Andre hit with Michael Chang. Then Sampras showed up, and I’m not sure if he hit with either of them, but he did hit with Mardy Fish. It’s rough at the top, and I can’t say Serena wouldn’t have done the same in Capriati’s place because I don’t know. I’ll add this, though: Serena’s shot was flat (no spin) and was hit straight down the line. I think it actually ended up going right between the lineswoman’s legs. (This makes the umpire’s overrule even sillier.) This is relevant, to me, because it means Capriati didn’t even have to see it go in; just looking at the ball bouncing down the line would have shown it was good. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/27 "2004-09-10T05:32:28Z")
As Philip Bondy pointed out in yesterday’s _Daily News_, incompetence takes advantage of people being nice. Serena should have thrown a tantrum, throw down the racket, then offer the umpire her broken racket, do something to snap that ump out of that incompetentent funk, and that of Serena’s own funk. Play bad, and all calls go against you. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/28 "2004-09-10T06:12:58Z")
If it was a bad call, and I’ll take everybody’s word for that, Serena had a right to be upset. But, she should have been professional enough to come back and keep playing. It can’t have been the first bad call she’s ever had. In hindsight, and by report from people who saw it, the officiating was bad through the whole match. But Serena didn’t know that it would be, just from that one call, and that’s where I have a problem with her. I heard her say, afterward, that she knew as soon as that call was made that she wouldn’t be able to make any line shots because they wouldn’t be called properly. I think she beat herself, in large part, and then made excuses by blaming the officiating. And the conspiracy remark was just uncalled for. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/29 "2004-09-10T07:23:51Z")
Has Jason Whitlock weighed in yet with another chunk of righteous black anger? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/30 "2004-09-10T07:39:03Z")
> [@thirdwarning](#): > > In hindsight, and by report from people who saw it, the officiating was bad through the whole match. I’d have to talk to people who were there, I didn’t see every single point. I didn’t see (or hear the announcers discuss) any screwups prior to the big one in the third set. Then there were the three that followed. > [@](#): > > I think she beat herself, in large part, and then made excuses by blaming the officiating. At the press conference, she could’ve blamed the officiating more than she did, in my opinion. She did acknowledge the match shouldn’t have even gone three sets. Repeated bad calls will throw you off your game, there’s no way around that. I think we’d agree that she’s still supposed to overcome that. Still, don’t think I’ve ever seen the officials make the player have to work harder to overcome their mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/31 "2004-09-10T07:53:51Z")
As a qualified umpire (cricket), you are never more vulnerable to making bad calls than after you have made one big one. Though you are trained to treat every incident on its merits, it is most difficult to do this when you know (in retrospect) that you have cocked up. I saw this the other day with one of the world’s top football referees, Markus Merk of Germany. He was officitiating a World Cup qualifier between Holland and the Czech Republic and had an excellent 70 minutes. Then, he failed to give a free kick to the Czech team in a good attacking position, when it looked a foul. The decision not to give a free kick was probably affected by the fact that, under the current interpretation of the laws, to give a freee kick would also have meant sending off the defender. A few minutes later, the same (attacking) player, Milan Baros, was tripped in the penalty area, with the referee in a very good position to see it. He waved played on. Once unsettled, it’s very difficult to make right decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/32 "2004-09-10T08:39:00Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Has Jason Whitlock weighed in yet with another chunk of righteous black anger? If he does let me know so I can complete the trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/33 "2004-09-10T12:10:57Z")
> [@](#): > > After the latest bizarre umpiring decisions that cost her a semi-final place at the US Open, Serena was the epitome of graciousness, never for a minute losing her poise or even her humour in the subsequent media interview… She was definitely screwed on that call. I was watching it live and the commentators were incredulous. However. Serena lost the match because she has lost her focus. She was dominant for so long that she could afford to sit out 40% of the matches with some injury (real or bogus) and STILL have a #1 ranking. Guess what? She’s no longer invincible. While she’s out designing tennis outfits, other players are training. Serena raised the bar significantly and could win any tournament that she wanted just by showing up for many years. She simply cannot continue to coast. And, like I opined after the French Open, it’s one thing to come out with your hot pink or leather studded outfits and go-go boots and win handily. It’s quite another thing to be wearing such a get-up and _lose._ I’m sorry but it makes Serena look ridiculous. I must also commend Jennifer Capriati for battling back after being down a set and being on the brink of losing the second set. She played brilliantly and for once didn’t let her emotions bring her down. Good for her. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737/34 "2004-09-10T15:08:25Z")
Considering how bad the officiating reportedly was (I didn’t see the match myself but no one is disputing it was awful umpiring) I think Serena gets a free pass on any response she cares to make short of actual physical assault on the umpire, and that does include bad hand signs and mooning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-umpiring-conspiracy-against-the-williams-sisters/263737.md?page=1)