Per We Love Tennis, Marion Bartoli revealed, as a dressing room tale, that Serena Williams was so upset of losing the Wimbledon title against Simona Halep in 2019 that she treated the finalist’s trophy like it was a common tray.
“It happened in 2019, when she lost the final to Simona. In the dressing room, after the match, she told me: ‘I don’t want to take the finalist trophy, I miss the champion’s trophy, if you want, I’ll give it to you to you (laughs).
We had a lot of fun, but the saddest thing is that she wasn’t kidding, she actually left the trophy there. The lady in charge of organizing the Wimbledon tournament was pale when she saw this. I’m a player who would kill her mother and father to see that trophy, and Serena left it there like some kind of cookie and appetizer tray.”
Simona Halep pays tribute to Serena’s retirement
Serena Williams is “the best forever,” according to former world No. 1 Simona Halep, and “nobody is going to hit the level that she touched.” Halep, a two-time Grand Slam winner, faced Williams 12 times, with the American winning 10 of those encounters.
However, Halep upset Williams in their most competitive battle, winning the 2019 Wimbledon final 6-2 6-2. “It was an honor, actually, to play so many matches against her and to share the locker room with her. She’s done unbelievable things in tennis and is going to be the best forever.
Nobody’s going to touch the level that she touched,” Halep said of Williams, per Max Gao. Talking about how Williams changed tennis, Halep said: ” “The power, the confidence, the way of playing to stay super aggressive, to stay close to the baseline & to make so many winners. The serve, which was untouchable sometimes. Also the desire, the passion to win every ball,” Halep explained.
