‘YOU THIEF!’
SERENA’S AMAZING MELTDOWN
‘Giving her a game penalty is insane’
HER amazing feats on the tennis court have won her a place among the sporting greats.
But Serena Williams has put her reputation at risk with an extraordinary meltdown in the final of the US Open.
The 36-year-old’s outbursts first cost her a point, and then a whole game, as she repeatedly clashed with an umpire who she accused of sexism. The penalties contributed to her defeat at the hands of a precocious rival – denying her a recordequalling 24th grand slam title.
The incident has divided opinion in the tennis world. Stars of past and present gave her their backing, saying male players had escaped sanction for worse behaviour. Others said she had gone too far.
The drama in the match against 20-year-old Naomi Osaka began when umpire Carlos Ramos gave Williams a code violation for allegedly being coached from the players’ box, which is against the rules. Williams angrily denied the accusation, raging that she would ‘never cheat to win and would rather lose’. Next she smashed her racket into the ground after losing her serve and was handed another code violation – a second offence that triggered a one-point penalty.
At the following change of ends, Williams, who is making her comeback after having a child 12 months ago, launched into another rant at Ramos, even calling him a thief.
‘You are a liar,’ she told the Portuguese official. ‘You will never be on a court of mine as long as you live.
‘When are you going to give me my apology? Say you are sorry.’
Ramos responded with a third code violation for abuse. He awarded the next game to Osaka, changing the score from 4-3 to 5-3 in her favour. She was already one set up. Williams won the next game with ease but her Japanese opponent was able to serve out for a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
By now the partisan, 24,000strong New York crowd was in full voice, booing furiously as Saturday night’s match ended in chaos.
Osaka, who had never won a major tournament, was reduced to tears and Williams appealed for calm.
Ramos left the increasingly toxic arena and did not return for the presentation ceremony.
Williams was later fined $17,000 for the three code violations – money that will be taken out of her $1.85million prize for runner-up.
In her post-match media conference, she accused tennis chiefs of treating male and female players differently and pledged ‘to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to have equality’.
Branding Ramos sexist, she said: ‘He’s never taken a game from a man because they said “thief”.’
Earlier in the same tournament Alize Cornet was handed a code violation for changing her shirt on court – something male players routinely do.
Sue Barker, the BBC tennis presenter, said: ‘The umpire was following the rules by the book but Serena has a point. I’ve sat courtside watching the men ranting at umpires and they haven’t been given a violation.
‘The fact it was to be a game violation then robbed the crowd of what potentially could’ve been a third set.’
Billie Jean King, who won 12 slams, tweeted: ‘When a woman is emotional, she’s hysterical and she’s penalised for it. When a man does the same, he’s outspoken and there are no repercussions.
‘Thank you, Serena Williams, for calling out this double standard.’
Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon champion, said: ‘When there is absolutely no curse or verbal abuse from Serena then giving her a game penalty is insane. You can’t do that. It is impossible. She’s right when she says the men say ten times worse and don’t get a warning.’
Supporters of Ramos, one of the circuit’s most experienced officials, pointed out that he had sanctioned Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in the past two years. They also praised him for standing up to Williams.
Patrick Mouratoglou, who coaches Williams, admitted he had been coaching from the box – but insisted Williams had not seen him doing so. He said his counterparts also routinely broke the rules.
Chris Evert, who won 18 slams in her career, said Williams had gone ‘a little bit too far’. But she criticised Ramos, saying he ought to have warned her before docking points. ‘Just because of the enormity of the moment, the umpire should have given her a bit of break but, instead, went right for the jugular,’ she added.
However BBC commentator and former player Andrew Castle added: ‘Not sure how any unbiased observer who knows the rules and history of tennis can look at what happened and defend Serena.’
British number four Liam Broady praised Ramos for not being intimidated by Williams, saying: ‘You shouldn’t talk to anybody in this way whether they’re an umpire or person on the street.’
At match point down in her 2009 semi-final against Kim Clijsters, Williams was docked a point and therefore conceded the match following an angry outburst against the umpire.
John McEnroe was also docked points for his 1981 ‘You cannot be serious’ rant at Wimbledon. ‘Superbrat’ was penalised for calling umpire Edward James ‘the absolute pits of the world’.
At Wimbledon this year Ramos handed Novak Djokovic a code violation for a tantrum.
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