Quote · The Megyn Kelly Show
NPR's Embarrassing Excuse, Another Socialist Victory, and Smug Serena Williams, with Matt Taibbi and Rob Finnerty | Ep. 1351
Where this was said
Serena Williams's Graceless Wimbledon Exit
At 1:26:48 · chapter starts 1:25:50
Kelly and Finnerty tear into Serena Williams's Wimbledon return. Kelly acknowledges Williams is the GOAT of women's tennis — possibly with 23 Grand Slam singles titles, comparable to Steffi Graf — but argues that age and entitlement have caught up with her. She lost in the first round to 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint, ranked 78th in the world, who beat the far older Serena in a third-set collapse. [1] — Megyn Kelly "Serena Williams returned to Wimbledon at 44, lost in the first round to a 20-year-old ranked 78th in the world, gave a weak handshake, skip…" 1:23:50 What followed was a cascade of poor behavior: a barely-there handshake to her young opponent who had just beaten her idol, a refusal to attend the tournament's mandatory post-match press conference, and a complaint to Wimbledon organizers that the five courtesy cars she had been allocated — for herself, her mother, her sister, her trainer — were revoked after her loss. [2] — Rob Finnerty "Walk into that media briefing room, drink your Gatorade, and give a press conference and answer every single question. Answer every single …" 1:26:10 Kelly also surfaces the 2022 precedent: after losing to Harmony Tan at Wimbledon, Serena blocked Tan on Instagram immediately afterward. Finnerty draws the Michael Jordan comparison — Jordan sat through brutal playoff losses in the media room and came back to win six titles. Serena, Finnerty concludes, 'handled it like a total loser. And it's a shame.'
According to reporting, after her 2022 Wimbledon defeat to Harmony Tan, Serena Williams blocked Tan on Instagram as a sign of poor sportsmanship.
