Serena Williams of the U.S. walks to her chair after smashing her racket in frustration during her semifinal match …
World No.1 Serena Williams gave a fiery display of her fighting spirit on Saturday afternoon at the Singapore Indoor Stadium during her WTA Finals semi-final against good friend Caroline Wozniacki.
Williams had a 9-1 head-to-head record going into the game against the Dane, but got off to a slow start in the opening set.
The American's frustration came to a boil when she went 5-2 down after sending the ball into the net.
Williams proceeded to smash her racquet multiple times into the ground, leaving it in an obliterated, mangled mess. Her act left the crowd gasping and earned her a warning from the chair umpire.
Williams went on to lose the set 6-2, but ultimately came roaring back to win 6-3 in the second and eke out a thrilling third 7-6(6) - leaving her in a good mood to joke about her racquet smash at the post-game press conference.
Serena Williams of the U.S. smashes her second racket during her WTA Finals singles semi-finals tennis match against …
“It was, right?” she chuckled in response to one journalist describing it as “epic”.
“I don't know how many times I hit it but boy, that racquet will never do me wrong again, I tell you! It was definitely legendary!”
The 33-year-old went on to explain that her anger stemmed from giving “everything” when she plays and right then, she felt like she was letting the fans down, after all their strong vocal support for her.
“Well, at least you know I'm passionate; I give 200 per cent,” Williams asserted. “When I play, it doesn't matter how I feel; I'm going to give everything I have for every shot and every point."
In this photo released by the World Sport Group, Serena Williams of the U.S. smashes her racket in frustration …
“I'm not the kind of girl that goes out there and just plays through the motions and just doesn't care whether I win or lose.”
She did acknowledge, however, that it was also down to her "losing her cool”. “I am not proud of it!” she added, smiling.
