Serena Wlliams US Open

[mummabear]

From stuff.co.nz:

Chair umpire's sexist power play ruins powerful US women's final

OPINION: Chair umpire Carlos Ramos managed to rob not one but two players in the women's US Open final.

Nobody has ever seen anything like it: an umpire so wrecked a big occasion that both players, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams alike, wound up distraught with tears streaming down their faces during the trophy presentation and an incensed crowd screamed boos at the court.

Ramos took what began as a minor infraction and turned it into one of the nastiest and most emotional controversies in the history of tennis, all because he couldn't take a woman speaking sharply to him.

Williams abused her racquet, but Ramos did something far uglier: he abused his authority.

Champions get heated – it's their nature to burn. All good umpires in every sport understand that the heart of their job is to help temper the moment, to turn the dial down, not up, and to be quiet stewards of the event rather than to let their own temper play a role in determining the outcome.

Instead, Ramos made himself the chief player in the women's final. He marred Osaka's first grand slam title and one of Williams' last bids for all-time greatness. Over what? A tone of voice. Male players have sworn and cursed at the top of their lungs, hurled and blasted their equipment into shards, and never been penalised as Williams was in the second set of the US Open final.

GREG ALLEN/AP

Serena Williams argues with the chair umpire Carlos Ramos during her US Open final defeat to Naomi Osaka.


"I just feel like the fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person that has emotions, and that want to express themselves, and wants to be a strong woman," she said afterward.

It was pure pettiness from Ramos that started the ugly cascade in the first place, when he issued a warning over "coaching," as if a signal from Patrick Mouratoglou in the grandstand has ever been the difference in a Serena Williams match.

It was a technicality that could be called on any player in any match on any occasion, and ludicrous in view of the power-on-power match that was taking place on the court between Williams and the 20-year-old Osaka.

It was one more added source of stress for Williams, still trying to come back from her maternity leave and fighting to regain her fitness and resume her pursuit of Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam singles titles. "I don't cheat," she told Ramos hotly.

When Williams, still seething, busted her racquet over losing a crucial game, Ramos docked her a point. Breaking equipment is a violation, and because Ramos had already hit her with the coaching violation, it was a second offence and so ratcheted up the penalty.

JAIME LAWSON/GETTY IMAGES

Serena Williams picks up her smashed racket after losing her cool in the sweltering heat of Flushing Meadows.


The controversy should have ended there. At that moment, it was up to Ramos to de-escalate the situation, to stop inserting himself into the match and to let things play out on the court. In front of him were two players in a sweltering state, who were giving their everything, while he sat at a lordly height above them. Below him, Williams vented, "You stole a point from me. You're a thief."

There was absolutely nothing worthy of a penalty in her statement. It was pure vapour release. She said it in a tone of wrath, but it was compressed and controlled. All Ramos had to do was to continue to sit coolly above it, and Williams would have channeled herself back into the match.

But he couldn't take it. He wasn't going to let a woman talk to him that way. A man, sure. Ramos has put up with worse from a man. At the French Open in 2017, Ramos levelled Rafael Nadal with a ticky-tacky penalty over a time delay, and Nadal told him he'd see to it that Ramos never refereed one of his matches again.

JULIO CORTEZ/AP

Chair umpire Carlos Ramos docked Serena Williams a whole game during the US Open final for "verbal abuse".


But he wasn't going to take it from a woman pointing a finger at him and speaking in a tone of aggression. So he gave Williams that third violation for "verbal abuse," and a whole game penalty, and now it was 5-3, and we'll never know if young Osaka really won the 2018 US Open or had it handed to her by a man who was going to make Serena Williams feel his power.

It was an offence far worse than any that Williams committed. Chris Evert spoke for the entire crowd and television audience when she said, "I've been in tennis a long time, and I've never seen anything like it".

Competitive rage has long been Williams' fuel, and it's a situational personality. The whole world knows that about her, and so does Ramos. She's had instances where she ranted and deserved to be disciplined, but she's outlived all that.

CHRIS TROTMAN

Japan's Naomi Osaka kisses the US Open trophy after winning the women's singles final against Serena Williams.


She has become a player of directed passion, done the admirable work of learning self-command and grown into one of the more courteous and generous champions in the game. If you doubted that, all you had to do was watch how she got ahold of herself once the match was over and how hard she tried to make it about Osaka.

Williams understood that she was the only person in the stadium who had the power to make that incensed crowd stop booing. And she did it beautifully. "Let's make this the best moment we can," she said.

So what do you think? Was he being sexist?

 

[BLAZEY]

Well considering her coach admitted to coaching her with hand signals during play which is prohibited Ramos wasn't wrong. So what if everyone else does it, you got caught doing it. If a baseball player had done that to a umpire he could get tossed, same with a hockey player to a referee. Part of being a great competitor is being able to maintain your composure while under pressure, and refocus when things aren't going your way. I think Serena was being a poor sport and her out burst detracts from Osaka's victory. This isn't the first time Osaka has beaten her either.

 

[L&Lfan]

Team Ref.
She behaved atrociously.

I couldn't take that "editorial" seriously after reading the objective accounts.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

I've been reffing some sports for a while now. The signals the coach was giving is typical and a grand slam final is the wrong time to start calling it . As for the "verbal abuse", the chair ump was a wimp on that one. That particular ump has taken far worse insults from the men's game where he normally works, so yes I think Serina had a point. Either way, it shouldn't have gotten to that point. She got robbed of a game which rattled her, Osaka was robbed of a thrill of victory, and the crowd was robbed an even greater match. Part of a ref's job is to de-escalate and keep the game moving. If he thought that was verbal abuse, he should have warned her first. Unfortunately, he made it about him. I have no doubt that he was also looking into the crowd for those signals either....and we don't even know if Williams saw them.

 

[sunshinehighway]

He was out of line.
Serena is amazing, love her.

People here seem to dislike Serena. I don't know. I assume it's for the same reasons they dislike other outspoken, popular athletes . I'm guessing you'll get lots of comments that she's "unprofessional" "entitled" "playing the women card", things like that.

 

[RedAngie]

What was this, the 4th or 5th incident over the years? She's lost any benefit of the doubt.

 

[soccerdad72]

At some point during her rant, it felt like she was daring the chair judge to penalize her - and he took the bait. It's a little bit on both of them - the judge should have had a thinker skin and do what he could to keep the focus on the match. But Serena went over the top with her ranting and, unfortunately, took away a memorable moment from a young girl who should have been in the spotlight yesterday.

I don't follow tennis a lot, but it does sound like this judge was penalizing Serena for things that men have always gotten away with - not that it makes Serena's actions right, however.

 

[BrianL]

At some point during her rant, it felt like she was daring the chair judge to penalize her - and he took the bait. It's a little bit on both of them - the judge should have had a thinker skin and do what he could to keep the focus on the match. But Serena went over the top with her ranting and, unfortunately, took away a memorable moment from a young girl who should have been in the spotlight yesterday.

I don't follow tennis a lot, but it does sound like this judge was penalizing Serena for things that men have always gotten away with - not that it makes Serena's actions right, however.

This is how I feel. It seems like the ref was being picky and over-the-top, but Serena also needs to control her temper and only exacerbated the issue. Sometimes in sports you have to deal with garbage calls. The players should rise above it.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

From stuff.co.nz:


So what do you think? Was he being sexist?

The coach isn't allowed to do what he did. That penalty falls on the player. Always has in Tennis. She drew a warning. Yes they get away with it. A lot. But he got caught. Then when she destroyed her racquet, she drew a point. That point penalty was not an option. She had already drawn the warning for the coach. It's a clear violation and he had to take it. There is absolutely no legit case against the point penalty. As for the game penalty, I've seen some worse things than calling the guy a thief that didn't draw a warning or a penalty, but I think given that she was jawing at him for quite some time, that was the proverbial straw. Yes I've seen worse not get it. But then again I've seen a default (match) for less. But just as in baseball, some umps have a quick trigger and others will let you jaw. With some it doesn't matter what you say during the time they give you to jaw and some if you say certain things, it's an instant tossing. So too in tennis, some will give you a conduct violation more quickly than others. And there are some that will let you jaw. And others will let you jaw but if you say certain things, boom, conduct violation. And it just so happens she was already on the game penalty. She was definitely on thin ice imo.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Based on sports I have watched, I think the penalty was justified - you don't break your equipment in anger, and you don't talk back to the ref. But, I haven't watched enough tennis to know whether he treated her differently than he does the men, so I guess that could be a separate issue.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Based on sports I have watched, I think the penalty was justified - you don't break your equipment in anger, and you don't talk back to the ref. But, I haven't watched enough tennis to know whether he treated her differently than he does the men, so I guess that could be a separate issue.

It's not uncommon for male tennis players to act out in anger or for them to argue with refs .

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm on both sides on this one:

1) Serena has had incidents in the past. She's human so it's not like she's not allowed to do that it just goes along the narrative

2) This ref has been known for being that kind of ref. On that note that isn't necessarily fair for the players in general if there's extremes too often where one ref is that ref and then you have another ref who is too lenient. But that's a sports issue in general.

3) There does seem more acceptance towards men doing certain outbursts, talks with the ref, etc

I feel bad more for Osaka because her win is marred by this especially to someone she looked up to so much, her win was by default and I can understand how one might feel in that you weren't able to win by playing it out.

I do think Serena has a point on the male vs female tennis player stuff but I personally would take it up with the organization not on the court in the midst of a game as this is a much larger issue. In the heat of the moment I get it but still it was a domino effect that occurred.

 

[BLAZEY]

He was out of line.
Serena is amazing, love her.

People here seem to dislike Serena. I don't know. I assume it's for the same reasons they dislike other outspoken, popular athletes . I'm guessing you'll get lots of comments that she's "unprofessional" "entitled" "playing the women card", things like that.

What her and her coach admitted to doing WAS illegal and cheating. Just because everyone else does it doesn't make it OK. The others just didn't get caught. Serena and her coach did get caught and were issued a warning. She didn't heed it, and then broke her racquet in anger and lost a point because any warning she could have gotten was already used on the previous infraction. She was already on the proverbial thin ice. She decide to go at the referee again which wasn't a smart move. All the things he called her on were legal to call. She though talking back to the referee was going to get thing to go her way? No, you continue to play, heed the warnings, refocus and complain to the higher ups after. She looked like a 3 year old having a meltdown in the middle of centre court.

 

[dish rag]

With what I saw I'm surprised she wasn't thrown out.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

They all coach from the stands

 

[havaneselover]

I liked Serena after watching her reality show on HBO. Now I’m not impressed. I don’t like playing the victim and she does do it a lot imo. She went after the ref for the coaching call saying he was basically questioning her character then she called him a thief??? Throw in the I’m a mom card and some tears and it was just ridiculous.

I think she’s an amazing athlete and I know she has overcome a lot including racism, serious health problems, a sister being murdered, family problems, etc. I just thought yesterday she was getting beat and managed to practically ruin Osaka’s victory.

I do not think the chair ump or whatever he is called is without fault.

 

[emmybee]

I don't follow tennis at all, so someone in the know help me: Who cares if the coach gives advice? Isn't their job to coach? Besides giving the player insight on her game, how can it be considered "cheating?"

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The coach isn't allowed to do what he did. That penalty falls on the player. Always has in Tennis. She drew a warning. Yes they get away with it. A lot. But he got caught. Then when she destroyed her racquet, she drew a point. That point penalty was not an option. She had already drawn the warning for the coach. It's a clear violation and he had to take it. There is absolutely no legit case against the point penalty. As for the game penalty, I've seen some worse things than calling the guy a thief that didn't draw a warning or a penalty, but I think given that she was jawing at him for quite some time, that was the proverbial straw. Yes I've seen worse not get it. But then again I've seen a default (match) for less. But just as in baseball, some umps have a quick trigger and others will let you jaw. With some it doesn't matter what you say during the time they give you to jaw and some if you say certain things, it's an instant tossing. So too in tennis, some will give you a conduct violation more quickly than others. And there are some that will let you jaw. And others will let you jaw but if you say certain things, boom, conduct violation. And it just so happens she was already on the game penalty. She was definitely on thin ice imo.

I agree with all of your points.

I was just talking about this with DS who is an NCAA pitcher, and we watched video. He said she should've just stopped yelling and taken it. Especially given who she is.

Personally, I don't think this was an issue of sexism. It was one that just about every athlete faces from time to time. Throwing a hissy fit isn't likely to get you very far.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Everybody's actions were coming from an emotional place, not an objective one. Not good... though I understand that tensions and tempers can flare up in competitive sports, so not entirely unexpected.

For the situation to be so easily veered into an gender equality issue really speaks to the lack of emotional control of the referee. Male competitors have said and done far worse than some expected angry muttering and some racket-whacking, yet are allowed to continue playing without further penalty. Nearly any filmed match should demonstrate that. I think the referee went totally overboard with his reaction. Make the call over the coach's attempted signalling, sure, but DO NOT take it to a punitive level when a player is obviously already riled up about their performance.

The referee is there to judge the GAME, not the behavior of the players, unless said behavior is clearly laid out in the rules of the game, i.e., no angry racket-whacking over the head of the competition!

 

[GreatLakes]

She was in the wrong 100%. She did what she was penalized for and was a poor sport. The way someone loses says a lot more about an athlete than the way they win.

"Other people do it too" is never, ever, under any circumstances, an excuse for doing something wrong so that shouldn't even be a part of the discussion.