Tennis legend Serena Williams has come under fire for being snubbed by the media following her first-round loss at Wimbledon to Australian Maya Joynt.
Joynt, 20, completed Williams’ return to Wimbledon in three sets with a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 victory in front of a packed Center Court crowd.
Serena Williams has been criticized for not holding a post-match press conference following her Wimbledon first-round loss to Maya Joynt. Getty Images
After shaking hands with Joint at the gate, Williams smiled and waved to the crowd and then walked away.
Instead of holding a post-match press conference, Williams asked Wimbledon organizers to issue a brief statement on her behalf.
“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon. I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. Getting out was amazing. I definitely enjoyed it and missed it and enjoyed this moment more than anything else,” she said.
International Tennis Writers’ Association president Simon Cambers at X said Williams’ decision not to meet with the media was “not made.”
“Impressed with how hard (Williams) fought tonight. Not impressed that she refused to hold the mandatory press conference,” he wrote.
“Since Wimbledon gave a wildcard, this is unacceptable.”
Australian tennis journalist Todd Scoullar was equally furious.
“So Serena hasn’t played a match in four years (and) gets a wild card to the biggest tournament on the calendar,” he wrote on X.
“(She) is a 3-13 underdog and (ranked 103rd in the race to the WTA Finals).”
“Bad handshake, no press. I didn’t need it at Wimbledon.”
At the 2020 US Open, Novak Djokovic was fined $7,500 (part of a wider $267,500 fine) for skipping the post-match press conference after he failed to comply after a desperation ball struck a line judge in the throat.
Joynt said her victory over childhood idol Serena Williams would be one of the “best memories of my entire life.”
Speaking of Nine Today Just an hour after the match ended, Australia’s humble rising star said she still couldn’t believe she had beaten the near-unanimous women’s tennis GOAT, who had won seven Grand Slam singles titles before Joynt was born.
The 20-year-old looked a little dazed as she walked up to the net and didn’t look like she said anything to the 44-year-old.
“I was happy, I was relieved, I was shocked… I really didn’t know what was going on,” she said.
“I just said thank you to her online. I didn’t even know what to say. I just felt like I needed to thank her for being on the same page.”
“It was interesting because she hadn’t played a match in a while, I didn’t really have any footage or anything to watch her play now.
“So I was just preparing for her to play her best tennis.”
Maya Joynt celebrates her victory over Serena Williams. Getty Images
Williams was naturally rusty and the Australian came into his own early, winning the first set.
The Joint took control of the second set early before Williams found her stride and fought back several times to force the tiebreaker. The veteran then saved match point and eventually won the second set to force a decisive third.
Williams took advantage of an early break in the final set to take a 2-1 lead before Joint fought back with powerful counters that left the tennis great in a quandary.
Williams struggled to maintain consistency in her serve after that. She double faulted in the Love-40 match to give the Australian a 4–2 lead.
The American appeared to lose energy as her game ended in unforced errors as the Joint raced to take the third set 6-3, ending Williams’ fairytale comeback before it even began.
“I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I was a kid, so it’s pretty crazy,” Joynt said in her courtside interview.
Alex de Minaur has made a strong start to his Wimbledon campaign. AP Photo/Kin Chung
The Joint entered the match in the midst of a decline in form. Since January, she has lost 13 of her last 14 matches and her world ranking has fallen from 28th to 87th.
She will next play 29th seed Alexandra Ila of the Philippines.
In Australia’s other match of the night, Alex de Minaur made easy work of Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga to advance in straight sets.
Thanasis Kokkinakis led two sets against No. 10 seed Alexander Bublik before ultimately losing 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(10), 3-6, 4-6.
Dane Sweeney and Alexey Popyrin were eliminated in straight sets, while James Duckworth won a four-set battle against Tallon Grickspoor.
Ayla Tomljanovic lost in three sets to Mariam Bolkvadze from Georgia. Talia Gibson also struggled in her first round match against Czech Marie Bouzkova, losing 1–6, 6–3, 2–6.