Samantha Stosur, Australia’s highest ranked tennis player, has scored some headlines.

“Aussie letting her emotions show” etc.

Part way through a vital game last Monday, she received a code violation for an “audible obscenity”.

She won the match.

Stosur makes no apology for her language.

Quote: “You don’t want to get a code violation or do something wrong, but if that’s what you have to do to release it and be able to play the next point well, then so be it.”

* * *

Her point is that winning matters more than curbing your tongue.

Most people would agree.

But most people would be wrong.

Being good at hitting a ball hardly matters at all.

Self-control and setting a good example matter very much.

* * *

The newspapers go on to say that “New Yorkers have embraced Stosur . . . .”

And that, “The Australian credited the rowdy crowds at Flushing Meadows for her new-found aggression on court.”

The worst thing would be for Sam Stosur to cultivate a new “image” and become like so many other badly behaved celebrities.

On the whole, Stosur has a pretty good record for composing herself during matches.

Let’s hope she can stay that way.