The Biggest Foot-in-Mouth Moments from Tennis Players in 2013

We are just half-way through the year and already a number of tennis players have tasted toe by putting their foot in their mouth.

More than slips of the tongue, comments uttered by these athletes were rude remarks which invited controversy.

We had Maria Sharapova playing gossip girl during a Wimbledon press conference. Meanwhile, the subject of that gossip, Serena Williams, needed to apologize twice for things she said.

Those foot-in-mouth moments made more headlines because Williams and Sharapova are among the biggest stars in the game.

However, they weren't the only players who said or tweeted truly idiotic stuff.

Oddly, most of the controversial statements were about women or said by women.

No. 5 Sloane Stephens: BFF Bummer

Sloane Stephens, in the middle of a slump, complained about Serena Williams not really being her BFF.

In fact, via an ESPN magazine interview, Stephens pretty much called Williams a phony who was punishing her because she beat her in Australia.

Williams took the high-road and never said anything negative about Stephens publicly.  

Perhaps stunned by the backlash, Stephens later apologized.

But the damage was already done. The little darling was now seen as the big brat. 

No. 4 Sergiy Stakhovsky: Anti-Ladies Man

Sergiy Stakhovsky started a crusade against women getting equal prize money in 2012.

Stakhovsky, who upset Roger Federer at Wimbledon, inserted a foot in his mouth this year via Twitter. 

Stakhovsky responded, via Twitter, to someone who inquired about how he would do against Serena Williams.

The person asked how many games he thought he'd get off Serena. Stakhovsky shot back, "you mean she will get from me."

Harmless? The problem is Stakhovsky serves on the ATP Player Council. So when he makes comments about WTA players, he does so as an ambassador for the men's tour.

He had already sparked controversy when he said the ATP "was done" with the WTA. He suggested they cut ties with the women's tour, outside of Grand Slams. 

With an ongoing campaign against equal prize money for women, Stakhovsky should probably avoid comparing his talents to any female player. 

Ironically, the average tennis fan probably cares more about Serena's dog or Sharapova's shoes than this guy.

No. 3 Maria Sharapova: Gossip Girl

Maria Sharapova's decision to go after Serena Williams included dragging a man's children into an international discussion about his alleged infidelity.

Sharapova responded to comments Williams allegedly made about her in a Rolling Stone magazine interview.

She told CBS Sports that "If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids."

Whether or not Williams and her coach are a couple is not the point. Bringing it up at a press conference is.

The worst part about this foot-in-mouth moment was that Sharapova was blasting Williams for talking about people's personal lives.

No. 2 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: Hormonal Hiccup

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a fan favorite, tasted toe at the Australian Open.

When asked why there seemed to be more consistency at the top of the ATP tour than there was on the WTA tour, Tsonga decided to go with a sexist cliche. 

He told a group of reporters at a press conference that the reason was women were more unstable and emotional than men.

This from a guy who can't keep it together in big matches and tanks under pressure. 

The full quote, found via transcript on the Australian Open site:

"

You know, the girls, they are more unstable emotionally than us. I'm sure everybody will say it's true, even the girls (laughter). No? No, you don't think? But, I mean, it's just about hormones and all this stuff. We don't have all these bad things, so we are physically in a good shape every time, and you are not. That's it.

"

Funny, the Top Three women on the WTA tour have something Tsonga does not—Grand Slam titles.  

No. 1 Serena Williams: Sorry Situation

Serena Williams stuck her foot so far in her mouth she had to go on an apology tour.

The most damaging comments were made about an Ohio rape case. During an interview with a Rolling Stone reporter, Williams commented on a news report about the case, while she was getting her nails done. 

She questioned whether the victim should have put herself in that situation. Facing criticism for "blaming the victim",  Williams apologized. 

Before that controversy could die down, Williams was apologizing again for other comments printed in the same article.

This time, the comments were supposedly about Sharapova. The Rolling Stone's reporter claimed he overheard a telephone conversation Williams was having with her sister Venus Williams.

He quoted Serena telling Venus: “She’s still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it.”

The writer surmised that it was about Sharapova and her boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov.

The tiff was fueled by rumors that Williams once dated Dimitrov.

Although there is no evidence that Dimitrov and Williams ever dated, this was aired in the media as a catfight over a guy. 

Granted, the reporter was sort of sleazy to include overheard conversations in the story. 

But Williams said herself, she should know better.

If you invite the press into your world, don't be shocked if they pick and choose what part of that world to make public. 

Honorable Mention: Victoria Azarenka: High Anxiety

Victoria Azarenka spoke openly about her anxiety attack during the Australian Open semifinal against Sloane Stephens.

After squandering five match-points, Azarenka took a 10-minute "medical timeout". She regrouped and won. 

After the match she admitted her timeout was to deal with the anxiety. So she pretty much owned up to cheating.

The only reason she gets honorable mention and doesn't quite make the list is because she was being honest. Gotta give her credit for that.