"The lowest moment of her career" - Serena Williams' ex-coach slams Camila Giorgi for controversial gesture after Venus Williams' fall at Birmingham
Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs has called out Camila Giorgi for celebrating winning the point after Venus Williams' fall during their first-round clash at the 2023 Birmingham Classic.
On June 19, Williams and Giorgi engaged in a thrilling clash in the first round of the WTA 250 event. The three-hour and 17-minute long battle saw the American emerge victorious in three-closely contested sets, winning 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(6) to notch up her first win over a top-50 opponent since Beijing 2019.
A controversial incident took place in the first set. While serving at 4-3, 40-30, Venus Williams, who was already playing with a strapped knee, slipped and fell to the ground after striking a forehand. Despite her fall, Camila Giorgi continued the play and even celebrated winning the point.
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Venus Williams slips & falls against Camila Giorgi.
This could’ve been a lot worse. She’s already playing with an injured knee. Thankfully she’s okay 🙏🏼
The crowd cheered for her as she got back up to her feet ❤️ https://t.co/U93EeolUvz
At the time of the incident, Rennae Stubbs took to social media and voiced her criticism of Giorgi's passionate celebration after winning the point. She deemed it potentially the lowest moment of the Italian's career.
Stubbs also shared a clip of the American's determined expression when she resumed serving and emphasized that no player would want to see that face coming at them.
"Camilla Giorgi just yelled Si when @Venuseswilliams just fell over and screamed! I mean wtf !!! I honestly think that could be the lowest moment of her career!!!! And you NEVER want to see this face coming at you now! Come on Vee!" Stubbs tweeted.
Camilla Giorgi just yelled Si when @Venuseswilliams just fell over and screamed! I mean wtf !!! I honestly think that could be the lowest moment of her career!!!! And you NEVER want to see this face coming at you now! Come on Vee! https://t.co/q9QvZ2N8de
"I couldn't move as well as I wanted but I tried to hit every ball that I could" - Venus Williams after win over Camila Giorgi at Birmingham
Following her win, Venus Williams expressed satisfaction with her high level of play during the match. She also praised Camila Giorgi's "incredible" performance.
"I thought I played so well today and she also played incredible," Venus Williams said. "So, she pushed me to be better than what I thought I could be and this is great, great for me."
The seven-time Grand Slam champion acknowledged her strong start to the match but revealed that she began feeling pain in her leg during the third game, which hampered her movement.
"I got to a great start, my leg started hurting in the third game, I was like 'Oh no, not this.' It was really hard to control my emotions to be honest and eventually I just acclimated to what I was going through and tried to ignore it. I couldn't move as well as I wanted but I tried to hit every ball that I could," she said.
Venus Williams will be up against the winner of the match between second seed Jelena Ostapenko and Linda Noskova in the second round.