2018 Women’s Singles Final: Serena Williams cheated out of US Open title?
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka faced off in the 2018 US Tennis Open Final on September 8 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. (Wikipedia) This year’s edition of the competition was infamous for its controversial decisions, and numerous heated debates and arguments have since ensued regarding umpire Carlos Ramos’ choices.
Serena Williams’ first warning of the afternoon didn’t result from a mistake she made, but rather it was due to an off-pitch incident. Williams’ coach was judged to have coached her during a set, which is a direct violation of the International Tennis Federation rules (IFT). This incident stunned Williams, and she stormed towards Ramos, informing and then correcting him of his misinterpretation. Shortly after, Williams became frustrated with herself, and slammed her racket onto the court, breaking it instantly. Ramos identified her actions as racket abuse and subsequently deducted a point from Williams’ tally. Samuela Ma’u (8B), who witnessed it live, was dumbfounded by the umpire’s decision, stating, “Every Open that Serena is in, she always breaks her rackets…and she [has] never got a penalty for it. It was confusing as to why she got a penalty for this one. Why would [he] do it now when [he has] never done it before?”
Williams’ afternoon soon escalated from bad to worse, with her temper and aggravation getting the best of her. During a timeout session, Williams criticized Ramos, labeling him a thief (The Vox). Ramos immediately issued Williams her third violation of the afternoon due to verbal abuse, deducting a game point. With Osaka significantly ahead of Williams in points, she eased through the rest of the game and claimed victory against Serena Williams. Jason Qiu (12C) believes that it was Williams’ first penalty that caused her to behave in the manner that she did, explaining, “[It] was [the] spark of it all. The rules have always been vague about this, and the umpire may have been a bit harsh on her.”
Naomi Osaka covering her visor as she is comforted by Serena Williams Photo courtesy of Politicalreporter.net
With all the attention on Serena Williams, it is easy to forget the impact this final had on Naomi Osaka. She became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam Title, but the crowd’s reception was seemingly unsupportive of her achievement (Asia One). She was booed by spectators and covered her face with her visor instead of celebrating, even as she was waiting to receive her trophy. It was only when Williams addressed the attendees directly that they stopped jeering Osaka. Despite worldwide abusive comments about her heritage and victory along with the crowd’s reaction, both Samuela and Jason stated, “I don’t think there were any [racist] intentions directed at [Osaka].”
In response to this match, Serena Williams has begun advocating for the end of sexism against in sports, using the Final as evidence for necessary change (The Guardian). However, Samuela believed that this campaign would not result in any radical change, explaining, “I think it’s just going to be another incident in a long list of them.” Jason added, “[I] believe her outburst is just a demonstration of her will and desire to win. After all, she is Serena Williams.”
Featured Image –Serena Williams confronting the umpire Courtesy of Mike Dickson via The Star