Serena Williams is right on women’s treatment but wrong about Saturday
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
W hen Serena Williams threw away the US Open title she has won six times by calling the umpire “a liar” and “a thief”, she cited sexism as the root cause . No male player, she said, would be treated the way the umpire Carlos Ramos treated her.
Sadly, she did her cause no good at all. Williams, while understandably upset, was wrong. Ramos, doing no more than his job demanded, was right. Intentionally or not, she accused him of bias that simply was not there – in these circumstances, at least.
By conflating her own dilemma with a wider issue and claiming to champion the cause of women in sport, she not only detracted from the extraordinary achievement of the 20-year-old winner, Naomi Osaka, who was appearing in her first grand slam final , but she shifted the blame for her own misdemeanours, and their consequences, on to an official who was powerless to reply.
She was correct to suggest men verbally abuse umpires all the time and get away with it. So do some women. She has history herself – at this tournament in 2009, for instance . It has been a problem in the game since the days of John McEnroe. There are fines and suspensions for the worst offenders, but there is a culture in tennis similar to that in football, allowing highly paid athletes to get away with behaviour that would either start a fight or result in arrest were it to occur in the street.
But none of that excuses what Williams did in the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday night – which was to manipulate sentiment to her advantage, regardless of the effect it would have on a wholly innocent opponent who showed admirable discipline and understanding on the biggest night of her life. Osaka adores Williams, and the American abused that love.
To simplify a sporting controversy that has been elevated to another level: over the final half hour of an emotional and otherwise excellent match, Williams received three code violations that resulted in her forfeiting a game and virtually handing the title to Osaka.
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Is there a double standard in tennis as suggested in the article:
She was correct to suggest men verbally abuse umpires all the time and get away with it. So do some women. She has history herself – at this tournament in 2009, for instance . It has been a problem in the game since the days of John McEnroe. There are fines and suspensions for the worst offenders, but there is a culture in tennis similar to that in football, allowing highly paid athletes to get away with behaviour that would either start a fight or result in arrest were it to occur in the street.
Or was she manipulating the game to gain sympathy?
Or was she manipulating the game to gain sympathy?
I don't think it's necessarily either.
I think she just lost her head in the heat of the moment.
No double standard, more like some athletes simply must feel entitled. The truth is, is that a young woman almost half Serena's age and weight beat her fair and square. The display of bad temperament was the final straw for the referee, who is said to be very experienced and one of the best. The way the crowd treated this young woman, Naomi Osaka, is despicable. Serena and her sister Venus should retire, because they are going to end up getting beat more and more.
So why was it OK for McEnroe to curse out the refs? Was he also entitled but got away with it? And as for Serena's age, well that might be a factor, but not her weigh. She has always been a big girl. But she is getting up there age wise, and maybe it might be time to retire. She would go out still be the all time record breaker in women's tennis.
So why was it OK for McEnroe to curse out the refs?
I never thought it was.
McEnroe was fined repeatedly and occasionally DQ'd for his behavior.
Seems like Serena Williams has become this generation's version of John McEnroe!
Yes, there is sexism.
But I don't think she was being treated badly Saturday due to her sex.
She kept going after the ump, over and over. If it had been one outburst in a fit of anger, and then back to work, I think she could have been forgiven. But she didn't.
One thing that struck me was when she said he'd never referee on "her" court again. Um, her court? That came across as extremely arrogant.
She ruined Osaka's moment, and that is classless and petty. Both she and the crowd owe that young woman an apology.
I totally agree with you Sandy. It was a total case of poor sportsmanship. I really did feel badly for Osaka.
She was being pretty bratty. I'm guessing she maybe said one or two things that she is not super proud of.
I feel bad for her opponent, who apparently (I didn't see the whole match) played pretty well and got a lot of disrespect she didn't deserve on what should have been an amazing day for her.
Saying Johnny does it too never makes it right.
While I agree that two wrongs don't make a right, for some reason John got away with it and Serena didn't. Why do you think that was?
And frankly, I am not sure why any ref should accept that from any player.
And frankly, I am not sure why any ref should accept that from any player.
Me too. But, did it cause her to forfeit her game? I think it was the heat of moment and she wasn't thinking about the behavior of others.
The ref over reacted. The punishment (the forfeiture of an entire game) did not fit the crime. I heard on the radio today that a respected tennis blog looked over the records of 3500 professional tennis matches from a certain number of recent years. ( I don't recall how many years that encompassed). They found only one instance in those 3500 matches of a referee ruling that a player had to forfeit an entire game, and in that instance the offending player broke three tennis rackets in the course of his rant against the ref.
Serena was wrong to distract from the winner's victory with poor sportsmanship, but the ref was wrong as well.
I think I agree with you about the forfeit of the game. It did seem a bit over the top. It will forever ruin Osaka's moment and throw question on her win until she wins again.
An interesting seed, thank you. But it just does not concern me. I'm sick of overpriced athletes becoming drama queens. In Tennis or Football. The only sport I watch with any deep interest now is women's college basketball. They seem to play with passion, and they play the games right. My nieces got me into it, with their love of UConn.
Men's college hockey as well. I love the Beanpot, and try to attend a game or two or three. https://www.beanpothockey.com/ This was my first year in memory, without going to Fenway Park. Never missed it. I substituted stripers and bluefish, for baseball.
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