Tennis is a time-honoured sport and Wimbledon takes the cake when it comes to tradition, court etiquette and professionalism.
Why then, are The Championships so full of schmucks?
Wimbledon 2017 is underway and already there has been as much on and off the grass controversy as there are French Open trophies in Rafael Nadal’s cabinet.
Last week three-time winning Wimbledon great John McEnroe, who just can’t stay out of the spotlight, reignited his spat with Serena Williams suggesting she would rank 700th if she played against men.
Oh dear.
Then the Gold Coaster we all love to hate, Bernard Tomic, gave one of his most bizarre interviews to date admitting to being “bored” after crashing out in straight sets.
It’s not just Wimbledon whose strawberries-and-cream persona has been marred by the dunces of the game.
Let’s take a look at some of the great racket blockheads from over the years before the latest Wimbledon champions are crowned.
John McEnroe vs. Serena Williams
Retired tennis great McEnroe was no doubt one of the most skilful players the sport has ever seen, but to say his on-court behaviour was confrontational is being polite. He may no longer be serving up the ball, but he’s remained relevant by serving some ace low-shots at the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams.
Currently Williams is ranked number four in the women’s singles, but the reigning Wimbledon champ isn’t there to defend her title due to pregnancy. She was two months pregnant though when she took out this year’s Australian Open, but do you think McEnroe is impressed? Hardly.
He is copping plenty of backlash over his comments that Williams would be ranked “like 700” if she was playing against the men, but he is back in the media just in time for the release of his autobiography.
You cannot be serious.
Bernard Tomic is Bored
So Aussie Bernard Tomic is bored of tennis? Well frankly fans are getting a little bored with the 24-year-old brat from the glitter strip bombing out in Grand Slams.
He is as well known for his early career successes as he is for that orange BMW M3. During last year’s US Open, Tomic lost in the first round to Bosnian Damir Džumhur and couldn’t handle the taunts of a spectator, unleashing some pretty mindless verbal abuse.
Now it seems he is not even trying, putting in a pathetic display in the first round of Wimbledon before saying post-match it is tough to find motivation knowing no matter if he wins or loses he has enough in the bank to retire in 10 years. See ya.
David Nalbandian Tries Out for Kick-Boxing
Poor line-judges. Is there anybody more hated in tennis? Calling the shots can cause plenty of heat especially as outed players would prefer their next backswing to strike the judge not the ball.
One of the great examples of a tennis star making a genuine jerk of himself is Argentinian David Nalbandian at the 2012 Aegon Championships at the Queen’s Club in England. A former World No. 3, Nalbandian was leading his opponent Marin Čilić when he kicked an on-court board that ended up striking a judge on the shin. Blood was drawn, egos were deflated and Nalbandian was disqualified.
He was also subsequently forced to forfeit his prize money and in total lost out close to $70,000. Ouch.
Serena Williams’ Feet Issues
Williams makes her second appearance on our list, but this time the record-breaking player is hardly the victim. The currently pregnant champion is rightly described by many as the greatest female tennis pro of all time, but even the super jocks can be super jerks.
As part of her ever expanding Grand Slam tally that puts the Melbourne Cup trophies of the late Bart Cummings to shame, William boasts six US Open singles wins. The 2009 championship though is absent, Williams outed in a semi-final clash against Kim Clijsters that has gone down in history for featuring one of the great dummy spits.
A racquet slam after her first-round loss earned a warning, but it was the foot fault on her second serve that pushed Williams over the edge and the plethora of profanities and threats to a lineswoman that followed were ugly. And this was eight years before she could even try to blame ‘pregnancy brain’.
Lleyton Hewitt vs. James Blake
Another embarrassing hard-court display came in the 2001 US Open and this time it was former Australian golden boy Lleyton Hewitt regretting his comments. Hewitt was the youngest male tennis player to gain a No. 1 world singles ranking, but his relationship with the fans has always been as dramatic as an Aussie soapie.
Hewitt won the US Open in 2001 at Flushing Meadows, his first Grand Slam title, defeating then four-time champ Pete Sampras in the final. But the path to glory for the then 20-year-old was not completely free of controversy. In round two Hewitt complained about an official during his five set victory over American wildcard James Blake, who foot-faulted the subsequent champion twice.
Suggestions from the sun-kissed kid from Adelaide were that the linesman was ruling in Blake’s favour due to them both being African American. No fines were handed out and Blake took it all in his stride, showing far more professionalism than the eventual tournament winner.
Jeff Tarango Goes Wild
Former American pro Jeff Tarango failed to secure a Grand Slam title during his career, but he will never be forgotten all the same thanks to his 1995 Wimbledon shocker. French umpire Bruno Rebeuh set Tarango off after making several rulings against him, and you better believe the player let the judge know exactly what he thought about it all.
In a truly unsportsmanlike display, Tarango stormed off the court after giving the umpire and crowd a spray. What made this showdown so contentious was the fact his then-wife went on to slap Rebeuh twice in the face.
There is more to this story though, with the chair umpire subsequently suspended and never again allowed to ref a Grand Slam tennis final.
Nick Kyrgios – Yo’ Girlfriend Sledge
Nick Kyrgios has retired with injury from the 2017 Wimbledon tournament, and while we love to get behind the Aussies, it really is hard to ever feel sorry for our bad boy of tennis. The 22-year-old is in the headlines for his bad behaviour more than Jeff Horn is rolling in the green after his upset over Manny Pacquiao in boxing’s ‘Battle of Brisbane’.
Colourful is a nice way to explain the vocab of Kyrgios, whose temper is about as long as his list of Grand Slam wins – zero and counting. Kyrgios is a show pony with a poor attitude to boot, plus he has about as much self-control when it comes to verbally slamming his opponents as Lance Armstrong had when it came to keeping clean on the roads.
One of the standout sledges from Kyrgios came during a match at the 2015 Rogers Cup when he hit Stan Wawrinka below the belt, suggesting Wawrinka’s girlfriend was as loyal as Kyrgios is cheery.
Grigor Dimitrov Causes a Racket
Bulgaria’s most successful male tennis player Grigor Dimitrov has plenty of firsts written into his career history, including being the first of his nationality to reach US$1 million and later $8million in prize money won.
He has burned through the records, burned through opponents and at the 2016 Istanbul Open he absolutely made a mess of not one, not two, but three tennis rackets. In his eighth career final at the time, Dimitrov was tipped to defeat the unseeded Diego Schwartzman. In the second set, Dimitrov suffered from a case of cramping that led to one of the most masterful demonstrations of how to best destroy a racket. Watch and learn.