The US Open Women’s Final was arguably the most shambolic sports moment of the year. It’s bad when both the winner and the loser are in tears at the trophy ceremony and neither woman was crying about the actual win or loss. Umpire Carlos Ramos decided to make it The Umpire Show and – in my opinion – abused his authority because he didn’t like the way Serena was speaking to him. He failed on multiple levels to keep the focus on the match and the players. Serena was still upset in her post-match conference, which we covered yesterday. ESPN released the blow-by-blow video of what happened, and trust me when I say… watching the whole thing unfold in real time, this video doesn’t even do it justice to how horrible and crazy it was and how both players felt the shift when Carlos Ramos inserted himself into the final:
For what it’s worth, the women’s final was one of the most high-rated tennis matches in ESPN’s history – Americans were tuning in to see Serena v. Naomi in record numbers. It’s the second highest rated tennis match in ESPN history, second only to the 2015 Men’s Final. Which brings up an important point: Serena is still beloved and she’s still the biggest name in women’s tennis. Advertisers love her, networks love her, and shouldn’t it follow that the USTA and US Open should go out of their way to treat her with the respect she’s earned, the same respect given to Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic? It would be hard to imagine any of those men being given three violations in the final of a Grand Slam. But that’s what happened to Serena. And not only that, the USTA is following through by fining her:
The US Open has fined Serena Williams $17,000 for three code violations during her loss in Saturday’s women’s singles final, the United States Tennis Association said.
Those are not steep financial penalties, and Serena has received higher fines in other moments of her career. But it’s still a reminder, isn’t it? Just one more thing to add to the pile of disrespect for Serena. At this point, after too many shenanigans by the US Open, I just think Serena should skip New York. Concentrate on the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
ESPN hasn’t put their video analysis up from a panel discussion they had yesterday, which included John McEnroe giving a full-throated defense of Serena and saying that in a final, Ramos should have given Serena the respect of soft warnings. Here’s another discussion where Chrissy Evert says much of the same thing.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.
I wasn’t fully on board with her reactions (she should have blasted them during the press conference) but I understand where she is coming from and I completely feel this fine is unfair. Even if there’s a technical violation of the rules, they could make their point across by fining her $1. Anyway I hope she just gets better and better.
There are always going to be inequities in life. One must deal with them with self-control and class. Right or wrong, she behaved badly and was an embarrassment to herself and the sport. More importantly, she ruined Naomi Osaka’s moment.
I would actually say that the ref ruined her moment. It’s one thing to win because you beat Serena Williams. It’s quite another to win because you received a “freebie game” from the ref, and you don’t actually know if you would have beaten her without that.
“Hollow victory” is the expression, I believe.
Oh Tilly. One must also understand racism and sexism and there are times you speak out so those behind you would have it easier. Good Lord, people’s privilege sure shows up in these comments. DID YOU EVEN WATCH THE MATCH??? I watched it and I recorded it. One must understand what they’re commenting about before they look a fool.
@Tilly-Google any John MacEnroe hissyfit and then reconsider what you saw. She was entirely respectful the.whole.time.
Secondly, any ref/official knows that if the focus is your call, your making bad ones. The official was concerned with things other than “what he ‘saw'” and we all know it.
@Felicia, we will never know if Naomi would have won with or without that game being given to her. I’m not going to speculate on that because Serena could have come back from being down a set or she may not have. But I would not call her victory a “hollow victory”.
I hear your comment but follow it up with, when are we going to ask these organizations to do better? Serena has had to deal w/ this inequality garbage her entire career and I appreciate and applaud her using her position as GOAT to make a stand.
Serena didn’t ruin her moment. The umpire ruined that moment by inserting himself into a game and making the situation more dramatic than it needed to be. This idea that there’s a convenient moment to get angry is ridiculous. That’s how systemic prejudice keeps renewing itself – by expecting people to keep quiet and “professional” until it’s convenient for them.
Osaka is a Haitian-Japanese player. What she got that day was a taste of the reality she’s going to be dealing with for the rest of her career unless things start changing. I’m angry for her that this moment’s power got undermined by this behavior, but I’m not going to shit on Serena, either, for being human and finally reaching her breaking point.
@Swack:
I did vast amounts of competitive sports as a teen and a young adult. I still do one competition sport regularly. My comment comes from there.
Beating your opponent because you’re better (that day, or just better all around) because you psyched them out or because they made mistakes and you didn’t, or because you were on your game and they weren’t that day… you know it was all on you and your performance. The training you’ve given your life to to get there and you’ve won because you’re the better player.
Beating your opponent because the referee gave you a game does not give the same certainty that you would have won if all games had been played. You don’t come out of it feeling victorious, you come out of it feeling as if you’ve been cheated of the your chance to prove yourself on own merits.
That’s not to say she wouldn’t have won. Mayne she would have. But she doesn’t know that now and neither does anyone else. She won while having no certainty that she “bested” her opponent thanks to a decision of the referee, and one that had no bearing on her, or Serena’s game.
Maybe that’s just me. But winning against someone is only rewarding when you know 100% that you deserved to win because you were better. Which was the point of my post. In that girl’s shoes, I would be supremely upset at having won against an opponent of that caliber because the referee’s decision gives room for doubt as to whether or not you would have done so without that decision. She’s out there to prove herself and the ref’s decision took that away from her.
So fighting sexism and racism are losing battles and we should accept those inequalities with grace.
No thank you
Firstly, the ump ruined it.
Secondly, Naomi played a world-famous athlete in Serena. People watched this match for Serena not Naomi. Serena was the one that brought the crowd here.
Thirdly, crying on stage like that is on Naomi – maybe this is just her personality – maybe she is a crier under pressure and is the overly humble type that is uncomfortable with taking credit for her accomplishments. She seems very meek for playing at this level of tennis professionally. I’m surprised she’s come as far as she has with that type of mentality. Maybe she has a hard time articulating her feelings but her interview with Hoda she came across unsure of herself in general.
Wow. Recommended book – Down Girl by Kate Manne.
Shall we start a go fund me so every supporter can give $1 (or more) to show our thanks for her speaking up? I’m sure there would be far more than the fine and would be a great message of support for what she is trying to accomplish. Funds could go to charity of her choice. She is speaking hard truth that needs to be said, heard and acted upon.
I was originally of the mindset that even though this sucked, and Serena got treated terribly, and it was totally unfair, Serena should’ve followed the Michelle Obama principle of “when they go low, we go high.”
But watching this unfold and seeing all of the details about the inequity come out, I realize now that there’s no way Serena could go high because that would only keep this inequity going. She has to protest and get the word out there. It’s especially ridiculous that they fined her all that money when most people (read white women and men) wouldn’t have gotten any violations to begin with.
I came to realize the exact same thing!
First if all, let me just say, I’m a new but huge fan of Osaka…….not only her powerful, graceful style of tennis, but if you’ve seen any of her incredibly sweet, goofy interviews, you’ll know it’s almost impossible not to fall in love with her personality.
Having said that, I’m starting to wonder if Naomi and her coach didn’t pull a clever maneuver by weaponising this sweetness. She’s made it clear almost throughout her career that she built her game around the William sisters and that Serena in particular IS her idol. Even after her semi’s against M. Keys, when asked about the prospect of her finals against Serena Williams, all she said was “I love you!”
Now, that’s all well and good…..but if you think about what actually happened at the finals…..Serena was getting frustrated……normally, she would channel that rage squarely against the other end of the court……..screams, mean looks and a generally intimidating aura….all very, very effective in asserting her dominance against her opponent. The more she dislikes you, the harder you’re going to get it.
But on Saturday, she channeled all that aggression against the (deserving) Umpire, NOT against Osaka.
Essentially, I suspect the most effective advice Sasha Baijin (Serena’s former hitting partner, now with Osaka) has given her is DO NOT PISS SERENA OFF or risk ending up like Serena’s perpetual footmat Sharapova, or more recently, like Pliskova who was confidently running her mouth until she got pulverized by Serena.
Instead, do the opposite. Get her to like you. That’ll tie her hands and neutralize one of her biggest psychological weapons.
Did anyone else see/think this, or is it just me?
That “when they go low, we go high” attitude got us Trump. I like Mrs Obama and think she is intelligent and poised and lovely, but that sentiment unfortunately doesn’t reflect our times. Serena was right to stand up for herself and we all need to do the same. I do quibble with the “I’m a mother” thing because parenthood or lack thereof was irrelevant to whether she “cheated” (which she did not).
“That “when they go low, we go high” attitude got us Trump.”
Nah, that was ignorance, inbreeding and russian bots. And complicit media.
I do think that that MObama attitude is what’s allowing Trump to become normalized though.
Djokovic expressed support. This is witch Hunt if you ask me. Cos every single player had that moment when you realize they are human and this got nastier cos of the judge.
I hope she doesn’t skip the US open in future. I hope she goes harder and shows us all what’s she’s truly made of as she’s always done. I hope she bounces back harder and shames the haters. I hope she keeps succeeding beyond her wildest dreams. I hope she leaves a legacy unmatched by winning more than 24 grand slams so haters can continue to seeeeethe. I hope she proves them wrong again and again. And I know for sure the WTA will regret it all when the Williams’s sisters retire as most persons will no longer be interested in watching women’s tennis. Heck, show me a crossover celebrity who’s both an influencer of pop culture and a force to be reckoned with on the court other than Serena. This girl is a mover and a shaker and a damn good role model and I just hope she knows wherever she is that her fans support her, are very proud that she stood up for the many many injustices she has suffered and we will continue to stand by her and Olympia is a lucky girl to have her as a mother and we are thankful for the bravery Olympia has instilled in her to be as outspoken as she was for a better world for all the children of tomorrow, of all colours, of all genders, to be treated equally and fairly. Fairness must be the number one rule of sport. Without it, even the word sport loses its meaning. Rules.must apply to one and all or to none at all. Bravo Serena! Bravo! It is unfair that they penalised and are now fining her, but she’s the baddest and shell bounce back to serve it all back and win. I believe in her and truly, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. So glad others stars like Billie JK are standing up for her. I don’t know where she gets her strength, honestly. I just want to hug her and let her know she is heard and she is understood.
I was sort of mixed in this thinking Serena had some fault until i actually watched these links. Sure she gets mad but she’s not in a rage- her reactions and what she says to the ref is not verbal abuse in comparison to anything else other players do. She’s fairly polite actually when she’s talking to the ref- it reads much worse than it is if you watch it. I’m one hundred percent behind her now. Sucks.
I think she’s at fault to the extent that she clearly lost her temper, and as a WOC, that means she lost the fight in people’s eyes before she even begin. My frustration with the excuses being made that put the blame purely on her is that it ignores the historical precedent of racism that she’s dealt with, the buildup of toxic emotion and microaggressions that leads to a moment like this. Everybody wants to pretend that this moment can be taken out of context of everything else she’s experienced and held in isolation, and it *can’t.* That is privileged thinking. Serena Williams can’t stop being black and female, so the rest of us can at least do her the respect of not pretending like she can.
This.
Ugh she gets tone policed. This only happened because she’s a black woman.
Unfortunately for serena an umpire driven by arrogance and ego ruined the US open final for her, he clearly went way too far. There was no need to impose this fine as well.
And here is just one example of the kind of sh*t Serena has to deal with. In addition, notice how Naomi it drawn as a blonde white girl.
https://twitter.com/Knightcartoons/status/1039017329030393856
JFC that’s terrible!!
That cartoon makes me so angry!
That cartoon is repulsive. Talk about missing the point. It tells me plenty about the cartoonist and any paper that would find it worthwhile to publish.
OMFG. I can’t. The whitewashing of Naomi and the grotesque drawing of Serena proves this dude is a horrible racist. Of course he thinks it’s just a temper tantrum about losing.
I am tweeting back to him pretty much your comments.
Why was it even published? That is some sick S%^t.
The was she was treated was disgusting and Carlos should never be allowed in a position where his personal feelings come into play in a situation they do not belong in. He is a shame to umpires.
If I was more tech-savvy, I’d start a Go-Fund-Me or Kickstarter so everyone who’s angry about this could chip in $2, and she’d MAKE money on this fine!!
I will Admit to being torn- aware that she has faced undeniable mistreatment by this sport and aware that she has been denied the accolades that deserves as the greatest ATHLETE of all time yet still feeling like it went too far on her part. I am A sports fan but not a tennis fan and so I thought about how in many other sports that would have constituted a penalty/fine etc.
After reading many many comments and articles, I realize now that my initial partial blame that I placed On Serena was misguided. Thanks to all here that thoughtfully and patiently helped those like me see the error in our ways. And may we all take the time to seek clarification, have the ability to admit when we are wrong, and respectfully grow as a society.
I’m not surprised by the fines, but goddamn, I’m so angry for her, and I’m even angrier for Osaka, for whom this should have been a joyful occasion. Yes, it was ugly, and yes, she was emotional, but I get so tired of women and minorities having to be Perfect Victims all of the goddamn time. There’s always an excuse for people in power when they lose their shit, but when people have legitimate breakdowns over years of abuse, blatant racism, and sexism, there’s always room to make a coded argument couched in “unprofessional behavior.”
There’s no convenient or “clean” time to fight back. The battle against systemic injustice is always messy. It’s not going to be eloquent. The only reason we think it can be otherwise is because most of us have had the privilege of reading about these fights in textbooks, where all of the information is cleanly organized in text and picture, completely divorced from the emotional context.
I watched the match. This umpire ruined the final for both of these women. What’s bizarre is that Osaka was playing so well and keeping so cool that she was probably going to win regardless. Could it have gone to three sets if Serena turned it around as she seemingly was doing at the time the ump stepped in? Absolutely. Watching Osaka apologize for winning was heartbreaking because she’s a really promising young player who had just won her first Grand Slam. I think if the ump hadn’t stepped in and the match had come to its natural end uninterrupted, the crowd would have loved the result – even if it was a Williams loss because Osaka is so charming, talented, and disarming.
I get the criticism that this debacle pulled attention away from the winner, but it’s good that Williams advocated for herself and stood up for herself. Not doing so would have perpetuated this misogynistic attitude. I hope she trains super hard and comes back in 2019.
“USTA and US Open should go out of their way to treat her with the respect she’s earned, the same respect given to Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic? It would be hard to imagine any of those men being given three violations in the final of a Grand Slam. But that’s what happened to Serena. And not only that, the USTA is following through by fining her”
Roger, Rafa and Novak would never act like that on court – they may have smashed rackets (Novak) and may have been annoyed but the disrespect that was shown to the match umpire and the officials was disgraceful
This. Agreed.
There are videos circulating of the same umpire giving Rafa, Djokovic, Murray and other male players code violations. The thing is those male players weren’t already on their second violation, calmed down after the violation and didn’t keep berating the umpire during the following changeovers.
It saddens me seeing people say that Serena is fine to throw temper tantrums during matches and are applauding her telling the umpire he is a liar and a thief. People throwing the “whatbouts” around the last few days (“What about McEnroe?!” “What about Connors?!”) sound like Trump supporters – Trump and his supporters like to engage in that type of talk (“What about Hillary?!” “What about Obama?!”).
Yes the rules need to be applied more consistently but umpires are not perfect. This umpire just happened to see Patrick coaching from the stands (and yes he was coaching because he admitted it afterwards. His gesture was for Serena to “move forward” and after that gesture she did start moving forward so of course she saw it and knew what the gesture was).
All three of them have thrown things and yelled at umpires before now. Novak’s yelled at ball boys and ball girls before.
Right. No male tennis player has ever said anything nearly as bad as Serena. I like this comment from yesterday bc they all have Carlos as the ump
from @catherine.
1. Nadal multiple altercations with Ramos at French 2017- no points or games taken. Requested Ramos removed from tournament. Again, no points, games taken
2. Kyrgios – screaming at Ramos at AO 2018 over a foot fault no penalties, or points taken
3. Andy Murray shouting “stupid umpiring” at Ramos, no points or games taken
4. Novak gets into 4 screaming altercations with Ramos at Wimbledon 2018: no points or games taken
#recipets
Excellent! Thank you for finding current examples involving the same umpire. I grew up watching McEnroe lose his sh*t in almost every match, seemingly without consequence, but I assumed the game had changed and what was accepted before no longer is. I guess it’s only allowed when the guys do it. A man will get called a passionate player if he throws a tantrum, and even admired for his competitive spirit, but I’ve never seen one penalized to the point he loses the match because of it.
Seems like removing the ump would be a viable option.
Ugh….please stop Veronica T. Do you even watch tennis?! The heart of the matter is not whether or not her behaviour was warranted, and also whether or not those vague mores can be applied to your desk job. The point is that she is FAR from the only tennis player to behave that way, from the coaching to the racquet smashing and even the outburst. Not only that, but there are many male players who have behaved much worse and not received any substantial censure. Rules are great, but pretty useless when arbitrarily applied at best and weaponized against people you dislike at worst.
Saying “well why does so-and-so get away with this” is like telling a cop who stops you for speeding “Well other people speed why are you stopping me?” I’m sure the cop will rip that ticket right up. Oh make sure to tell the cop he’s a liar and a thief as well and see how well that goes over for you.
The irony and lack of self-awareness in this comment is the stuff of legends. If you’re going to attempt to criticize Serena Williams and her behavior by isolating it from the historical racial and gendered context, maybe you shouldn’t pick a comparison that involves a practice that historically involves enormous amounts of racial profiling and outright state-sanctioned violence against minorities.
Black people don’t argue with police at traffic stops because they think good behavior will save them a ticket. They don’t argue because they’re afraid of being f*cking shot.
@veronicaS
You are so on point. Damn.
Just because it’s pointless to argue with an umpire or cop doesn’t mean the umpire or cop is right. See also the story about another umpire actually pep talking a male player in this year’s US Open when the ump’s alternative would have been to fine the player $20,000 for each game he wasn’t giving his best efforts. An umpire can choose to de-escalate emotional outbursts by showing empathy or overlooking them or he can choose to escalate and this umpire chose the latter.
If people don’t want to go back to the McEnroe period because it was too long ago, can we please refer back to Wimbledon two years ago. This male professional tennis player called the chair ump an idiot and the worst umpire in history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlNjLnvIojI
It’s still acceptable for a man to be “competitive” but a woman needs to be “self-controlled” and without emotion. Remember the great quote from Harvard Professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: “WELL-BEHAVED WOMEN SELDOM MAKE HISTORY.”
Me: Argue with a dude yesterday (he started), I explain how she was targeted unfairly, double standards, etc.
Answer: maybe but …
Me: Send an article where the head of WTA acknowledges sexism was involved
Answer: fair enough, all these rich athletes anyway, not much pity for them
Me: Bless your heart for your tenacity at not acknowledging the issue
Answer: I was waiting for evidence
Me: It is now widely acknowledged even by the head of the WTA and you still do not it call it evidence
Answer: I don t want to fall out with you …
Me: You reaction is nothing special, do not worry (sadly)
Answer: As long as you don t call me a fascist …
Me: You have been gaslighting me for a whole conversation, I still have not lost my sh*t and now I have to make you feel better???
I have been sweet and as non-confrontational as I could during this exchange (because as Serena has proven again, when you get angry, you lose automatically), but the rage is fierce.
Gaslighting, denial and obfuscation at every step. And after, they need an ego boost on top otherwise I am a bad person and life is unfair to them?
And we are supposed to smile, be conciliatory and lady-like in front of that?
So part of me thinks that she protested to much. She got a warning. Yes the coach was giving her signals. Whether or not she follows them? Ok coach needs to stop. Why the broken racket? Why the insistence on the apology when the coach was wrong? The whole thing was a mess. Is their sexism in the sport for sure and thanks to her she is helping chance that and she is amazing for that. But What bothers me is her continued assistance that the coach lost her the game. That makes the winner look like she didn’t really win. She’s not hurting the coach by saying that she’s hurting the other woman. I would like Serena to continue to talk about the sexism but would come out and say that she was out played in that game and give credit to the winner. That’s only fair the chances of her coming back or slim to none the other woman played amazing and she needs to admit that
I think what made some minor issues explode is that Serena got psyched out. She’s nowhere near retirement, I think she’ll outlast some of the kids, but she’s 37 and Naomi is 20 and was beating her. You could say that she was looking at a younger version of herself.
Haha!! I watched the interview in which she said it’s about women rights and bring that cornet thing as well 🤣🤣, women right activist the Serena !!
And I understand she is newly mother and everyone is talking about it but she should watch what she is saying in the match and dragging her kid into a argument is so pathetic.
Else it’s Serena what do u expect from her 🤷
I believe the ump was sadistic and Serena was right to be upset. But in my mind, neither men NOR women should behave this way. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Her coach is to blame for violating a rule, she shouldn’t have thrown her racket, and Osaka should have gotten the ceremony she deserved. We are moving in a direction in society (thanks to Trump) where it’s acceptable to lose all control over what you say and do.
I choose to believe Serena’s perspective on this incident.
Keep fighting the good fight, GOAT.
Congratulations Naomi -your still young and will have your outburts believe me.
The irony is that if this were #metoo related, people would be screaming out, yes she should have spoken out immediately on the court. But since it has a racial bias to it, people here are like, nah, she should’ve waited, waited her turn, waited for the correct place to report it from. Smh.
Sexism has lead to a serious suppression of women’s anger and racism makes a WOC’s anger that much more unacceptable. Women are supposed to be nice, meek and deferential to the men trying to control us. How dare Serena Williams express her justifiable anger and frustration! She BROKE HER RACQUET!!! !Not over the ump’s head or anyone else’s but MY GOD!
Why can’t she be angry and upset? Her coach should have obeyed the rules and she wasn’t responsible for the crowds booing either but she is getting all the blame. I don’t think her behaviour was out of line and do think she was treated badly.
Serena behaved atrociously, acting like a child. I watched the match and checked the stats afterwards she was outplayed from the second the match started. She stole that girls moment. Geeing up the crowd then playing the victim and telling them to stop booing, it was her carry on, that created the problem. Coupled with the tacky American crowd that are easily led, if she’d pulled that stunt at one of the other slams the crowd would have turned on her and rightly so, she’d have been booed off of the court. Is she now gonna say that she lost Wimbledon too as a result of her bullshit sexism. She was wrong and instead of apologising she’s buckled down, and everyone and there mother is justifying her behaving like a pork chop. She has now joined nick kyrios for me in the sin bin.
It has been quite disturbing to see how much people agree with her poor behavior. So that’s how it’s gonna be from now on? Losing your cool to make a point? I agree there is sexism and racism in the sport, that is undeniable. But she channeled her frustration the wrong way. I hope she learns from this and moves on, for she’s still the best in her category. And Osaka has my full support and admiration. She has a bright future ahead of her.