Serena meltdown
SERENA Williams insisted she was not cheating in the US Open tennis final yesterday before accusing the sport that has made her a global icon and multi-millionaire of sexism.
Naomi Osaka won the final 6-2 6-4 to become Japan’s first grand slam singles champion and delay Williams’ bid for a record-equalling 24th major.
But the win was overshadowed by an angry and tearfilled second set tirade from the American who has returned to tennis this year after having a baby.
It has already been dubbed “The Mother of all Meltdowns” by the New York Post.
The 36-year-old was handed a code violation for coaching, a penalty point for racquet abuse and a game penalty for calling umpire Carlos Ramos a “liar and a thief” and insisting, “You owe me an apology”.
“He alleged that I was cheating, and I wasn’t cheat- ing,” Williams. “I don’t use oncourt coaching.
“One thing I love about tennis is being out there. It’s the one time I don’t want to hear anyone tell me anything.
“You have to figure out. You have to problem-solve.”
Williams said her coach Patrick Mouratoglou was not coaching her, but the Frenchman told ESPN he was coaching and that all coaches did it.
“I’m honest, I was coaching. I don’t think (Serena) looked at me, so that’s why she didn’t think I was,” he said.
“But I was, like 100 per cent of the coaches on 100 per cent of the matches. So we have to stop this hypocrite thing.
“(Osaka’s coach) coaching every point, too.
“Not to allow a player to express their feelings is stupid. It’s not a big deal to break a racquet.”
But Williams claimed there was no coaching. was
“I just texted Patrick, like, ‘What is he talking about?’ Because we don’t have signals,” she said.
She said the row strengthened her belief women tennis players were treated differently to their male counterparts.
“I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things. I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality,” she said.
“For me to say ‘thief’ and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark.
“He’s never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief’. For me it blows my mind. But I’m going to continue to fight for women.”
Williams referred to France’s Alize Cornet being warned earlier in the tournament for taking her shirt off on court because it was on backwards. Tournament chiefs later admitted the umpire’s decision was wrong.