Better late than never. Serena Williams has finally issued what she calls a sincere apology for her unforgivable behaviour at the US Open where she abused and allegedly threatened a female line judge at a crucial point in her semi-final encounter with the eventual champion Kim Clijsters.
Williams, winner of 11 grand slam titles and a tireless worker alongside her big sister Venus to improve the fortunes of the less-privileged members of society, undid much of that impressive work when she was caught on camera uttering obscenities towards the official who had penalised her for foot-faulting.
The outburst led to Serena losing the match on a technicality, the world No 2 incurring a penalty point on match point which presented a straight-sets victory to her bemused Belgian opponent. No remorse was displayed on court or in the ensuing press conference and it took two days for the official statement containing the unreserved apology to materialise.
"I want to amend my press statement, and want to make it as clear as possible," said Serena before partnering Venus to victory in the delayed women's doubles final. "I want to apologise sincerely, first to the lineswoman, to Kim Clijsters, to the US Tennis Association, and to tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst.
"I'm a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I'm wrong. I like to lead by example. We all learn from experiences, both good and bad. I will learn and grow from this, and be a better person as a result."
The sordid affair might not end there, however. Serena, 28, who was fined US$10,000 (Dhs36,700) for the over-the-top protest and a further $500 for breaking a racket at the end of the opening set, could forfeit her $350,000 prize money and face a suspension from the game if the authorities choose to throw the rule book at her.
An investigation has been launched to determine whether the behaviour of Williams can be treated as "aggravated" which would be what the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) code of conduct describes as "flagrant and particularly injurious to the success of a grand slam".
Stacey Allaster, the recently appointed chairman and chief executive of the WTA, would not pre-judge that enquiry but issued a statement referring to the player's behaviour being "inappropriate and unprofessional".
Allaster said: "No matter what the circumstances, no player should be allowed to engage in such behaviour without suffering consequences.
"Serena is a great player who has done so much for our sport, and I am certain she will continue to be a role model to millions of young women who want to play the game and excel as Serena has done.
"As a role model, it's important for a leader like Serena to step forward and recognise her behaviour was unacceptable."
wjohnson@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
Saturday's results
Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
Alita: Battle Angel
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson
Four stars
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
England ODI squad
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Dengue fever symptoms
- High fever
- Intense pain behind your eyes
- Severe headache
- Muscle and joint pains
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Swollen glands
- Rash
If symptoms occur, they usually last for two-seven days
SPEC SHEET: NOTHING PHONE (2)
Display: 6.7” LPTO Amoled, 2412 x 1080, 394ppi, HDR10+, Corning Gorilla Glass
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Main camera video: 4K @ 30/60fps, 1080p @ 30/60fps; live HDR, OIS
Front camera: 32MP wide, f/2.5, HDR
Front camera video: Full-HD @ 30fps
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Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC (Google Pay)
Biometrics: Fingerprint, face unlock
I/O: USB-C
Durability: IP54, limited protection
Cards: Dual-nano SIM
Colours: Dark grey, white
In the box: Nothing Phone (2), USB-C-to-USB-C cable
Price (UAE): Dh2,499 (12GB/256GB) / Dh2,799 (12GB/512GB)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
EXPATS
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo, Brian Tee, Jack Huston
Rating: 4/5
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Top 10 most competitive economies
1. Singapore
2. Switzerland
3. Denmark
4. Ireland
5. Hong Kong
6. Sweden
7. UAE
8. Taiwan
9. Netherlands
10. Norway
The UAE's journey to space
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.