Venus Williams had some trouble with the weather during her Emilia-Romagna Open match against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Monday, and her frustrations led to a tense exchange with an official.
Williams received a warning for not serving within the 25-second time limit, and she complained to the chair umpire that she was simply waiting to serve between gusts of wind. The umpire told her to “be aware” of the time, to which an annoyed Venus replied that she “can’t control God.” You can see the exchange below:
“I can’t control God. Talk to him.”
-Venus Williams
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 17, 2021
Williams went on to lose to Schmiedlova for the fourth consecutive time, so she was likely frustrated with her performance as much as she was with the wind.
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time in the last week that weather conditions have resulted in a player jawing with an official. Novak Djokovic was irate with an umpire for allowing his Italian Open match to continue in the rain last week. You can see how that situation played out here.
