Why Serena Williams skipped media at Wimbledon revealed after she avoided $50,000 fine
The reason behind why Serena Williams swerved the media in wake of her Wimbledon return has been revealed.
The Michigan-born tennis star, 44, came back to the centre court after four years and hoped to thrash Australia's Maya Joint on Tuesday (30 June).
But unfortunately, she ended up being beat in the first-round clash by her opponent who is 24 years her junior - and afterwards, she bypassed the usual post-match press conference.
Seven-time Wimbledon champ Williams was beat by Joint during their bout earlier this week, as the 20-year-old managed to win 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.
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Despite her defeat, the mother-of-two - who is married to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian - was given an extremely warm welcome from fans as she walked onto centre court.
Supporters were seen holding signs sporting messages such as 'Welcome Back', while another had one dubbing her an 'Unstoppable Queen'.
As she exited, Williams waved to her admirers and seemingly decided to let Joint do the talking.
Her Aussie opponent told reporters she had barely slept the night before their clash, as she was up until 2am 'just thinking about it'.
Referring to Williams, Joint said: "She has such an aura, she's such a legend. I've been dreaming about this since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy."
Despite her rival being up to discussing what happened on the court, it appeared as though Williams wasn't, as she didn't attend the post-match press conference.
Instead, tennis fans were directed to read a short statement from the 23-time Grand Slam winner, which read: "It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here.
"The atmosphere was amazing. Walking out was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything."
A lot of fans thought that her lack of attendance might have just cost her $50,000, as according to the Grand Slam rulebook, players will be penalised financially if they don't speak to the media after being on the court.
It explains: "If a player is unable to appear, the appropriate level of direct communication is requested. Violation of this section shall subject a player to a fine up to $50,000."
There is a something of a get out of jail free card though....as tennis stars won't be punished if they are 'unable to appear on reasonable grounds', such as illness or injury.
Williams' agent, Jill Smoller, later explained that she had hurt her knee, which is why she did not fulfil her obligation to address the media.
"Serena tweaked her knee at the end of the first set and was therefore excused from her media obligations by the Wimbledon and WTA medical teams," Smoller said.
"She left site that night unaided and is doing everything she can to be ready for her doubles match."
As Smoller mentioned, this isn't the last that Wimbledon will be seeing of Williams.
She will return to the court to play doubles with her sister Venus later this week.
If you thought the rule about participating in post-match press conferences was wild, just take a look at these other wacky rules that players have to abide by.
Wimbledon’s strangest rules
Wimbledon has strict rules and regulations for pretty much everything - from the length of the grass to the temperature of the tennis balls, and you can be fined thousands of pounds for certain conduct violations.
Curfew
While at other grand slams, play continues late into the night, at Wimbledon there’s a strict 11pm curfew.
This means tennis fans sometimes have to go to bed on a cliffhanger.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal’s 2018 semi-final clash was suspended after the third set. Meanwhile, Andy Murray was particularly peeved when he was in the lead against Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2023, but went on to lose when the game was paused overnight and restarted the following morning.
Timed toilet breaks
Players are limited to one toilet break for matches up to three sets, and two if it goes on for longer.
They can only go during a set change and they have to be back within three minutes, or they risk giving a point to their opponent.
The longest ever Wimbledon match lasted a whopping 11 hours over three days, so players better get their nervous wees in before the match.
Temper tantrums
Players can be fined up to £36,900 for smashing their rackets. Djokovic is believed to have smashed over 60 of them over the course of his career.
Bad language can also result in the same maximum fine.
Countdown to serve
As soon as the ball goes out of play, the serving player has just 25 seconds to hit their serve, or the umpire can call a violation which could potentially grant a point to their opponent.
Fines for not trying hard enough
Players must demonstrate they’re giving their all to win the match. Australian player Bernard Tomic was fined an eye-watering £45,000 after he was accused of not putting in enough effort to beat French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, losing after just 58 minutes.
Age limits
Players have to be at least 14 to compete, which means youth sensations like Coco Gauff were initially barred from taking part.
Spectators, meanwhile, have to be accompanied by a guardian if they’re under 16. Under-fives aren’t permitted at all onto show courts.
The grass and the balls
Everything at Wimbledon is just so. The grass is cut to 8mm, which is apparently best suited for modern tennis play and for the grass to survive.
Meanwhile, the tennis balls are kept in a fridge in order to maintain a constant temperature of 20°C. A consistent temperature is important because it apparently affects the way the balls bounce. The more you know.
Tennis whites
It was originally just female players who were required to wear all-white on the court. According to Tennis Fashions: Over 125 Years of Costume Change, the rule was introduced because it was ‘quite unthinkable that a lady should be seen to perspire’. OK then…
Eventually, the rule was imposed on men too.
A single trim of colour is allowed around the neckline and sleeve cuffs, but this must be no thicker than 1cm.
In 2022, an exception was made so women could wear dark undershorts to feel more comfortable if they were on their periods.
Topics: Serena Williams, Wimbledon, Sport, Celebrity News
Olivia Burke