Hey, I’m honestly trying to comprehend the US Open final, so can someone please explain to me why we’re defending Serena? Because:
1) Her coach admitted he was coaching her. That’s a valid violation.
2) She broke her racket in anger. “Racket abuse” is a valid violation.
3) The only violation I’m not sure of is verbal abuse, but she was calling him a liar and a theif, even though all he did was call her on the above two violations, which were valid. Like, you can’t deny she did both.
I don’t get how racism plays in because Osaka is also not white or how misogyny plays in because we weren’t comparing Serena to a man, we were comparing her to Osaka, who’s a woman.
If anyone could explain these points, I’d appreciate it! Not trying to start a fight, I’d just like some insight.
Because, 1) Almost all coaches do that while their players are on the court and no one really considers it sending signals or cheating. Serena’s coach admits to coaching her but he also said that NEVER in his life has he received a code violation for doing exactly what he did today and that he does this for ALL of his players. None of which received violations.
2)The umpire accused her of cheating, bringing into question her character when she’s at where she is due to her own hard work and skill, so he was pretty much discrediting her reputation and talent, to believe that she’d be willing to cheat just to win. She was extremely offended by this because she’s SERENA WILLIAMS, a legend who’s worked incredibly hard this past year after nearly D Y I N G in childbirth to be at the top of her game. Serena said, “I don’t cheat to win, I’d rather lose.”
3) Almost all tennis players at some point break their rackets in anger or frustration, some do not get penalized for racket abuse, some do. What Serena did was pretty minor in comparison to other racket abuse examples, some players break multiple rackets in one match. Dominic Thiem, an Austrian player, was applauded for breaking his racket then giving it to a young fan as a souvenir a week ago….at the US open.
4)The above racket abuse violation resulted in a POINT penalty. Taking a point away from Serena and giving it to Naomi. He didn’t have to give her a point penalty but his reasoning was that the earlier “warning” and now the racket abuse should result in taking a point from her. In some tennis matches they do not take a point a way for such a violation.
5) Since he called her a cheater earlier in the match she said she could call him a thief for taking that point away from her. He counted this as verbal abuse of an official and gave her a GAME penalty. Changing the second set score to 4-3 to 5-3, in Naomi’s favor. Naomi won the last game and then the match.
People are talking about race and misogyny probably because a lot of other white male players will do exactly what Serena and her coach did today and get zero to little violations for them, even though in some cases they act more extremely than she did today. Some men have said wayyyyy worse to umpires and don’t receive that heavy of a penalty. Serena said, “To lose a game for saying that, it’s not fair, I mean it’s really not,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of men out here who’ve said a lot of things, and because they are men, it doesn’t happen to them. Because I’m a woman, you’re going to take [a game] away from me? I know you can’t change it but it’s not right.”
Also, there was some shady stuff that happened at the US open with Serena a couple of years ago so there’s some history there.
Overall, Naomi Osaka played amazing today and didn’t deserve her first Glam Slam to be marred with such hate. The crowd was very pro Serena so there was a lot of booing at the umpire, which may have been deserved, but downplayed Naomi’s win. Serena several times tried to gesture to the crowd to quit booing and in her speech after the match told everyone to stop booing and consoled and congratulated a crying Naomi on her win.
Neither of them deserved such an awful US Open final but Naomi Osaka is definitely a legend in the making and should be celebrated for her amazing playing today and making history as the first US Open winner from Japan. She had said before this match that it was her dream to play against her idol Serena in a grand slam.
And Serena Williams is without a doubt the best athlete of our time and it’s despicable that this Grand Slam season has seemed to have it out for her, with the recent “catsuit ban” at the Roland-Garros. There’s been no one like her in sports history and she’ll continue to make history without a doubt.
Serena Williams has been battling misogyny, racism and so much hatred for her entire career. She handles it with grace and dignity.
Today, she got emotional because the very nature of her character was called into question by someone who should have been completely neutral. He is considered one of the best umpires of the sport and generally does men’s matches.
To address the Thiem comment, he was warned in his match for smashing his racket, the media are the ones applauding it. The umpire was consistent with the rules there.
This is a sport that still celebrates the antics of John McEnroe while criticizing a woman for doing something so much more controlled than that…
Serena Williams has one more Grand Slam titles than anyone in the Open Era of Tennis (that began in 1968). Roger Federer has been called the Greatest Of All Time for winning 20 Grand Slam titles, more than any man in the Open Era. Serena has won 23.
I have always admired Serena as an athlete, a woman,a feminist and recently as a mother. I wish her all the best, I hope this is something she can overcome and I honestly believe the US Open needs to sort out its umpires. You can’t have one umpire coach a player mid match. You can’t have one rule applies to one, and another rule for another player. Novak Djokovic had an entire conversation with his box... and a hand gesture that Serena couldn’t possibly have seen all of it, is unacceptable and penalised? Consistency is the key for an official in any sport.
It’s a shame the final is being remembered for such negativity. Naomi Osaka has had the joy of her victory taken away from her. Serena Williams had her character attacked and a celebration of her achievement taken away. Carlos Ramos has created a dark day for Serena, Naomi, the fans and tennis itself.
Carlos Ramos should publicly APOLOGIZE to Serena and promptly announced his retirement.
Published
Beautifuldifferences 