Serena Williams lost to rising star, Naomi Osaka in the 2018 Women’s Open on Saturday, September 8 after arguments with the chair umpire, according to the New York Times. Serena Williams called Carlos Ramos, the chair umpire a thief, argued with him throughout the match, and accused him of sexual bias.
Osaka remained composed during the match as Williams argued with the umpire. This took the focus away from Osaka, and fans watched to see what Williams was going to do or say next. At the podium, fans booed as Osaka pulled down her visor to hide her tears. Williams responded by asking them to stop, and celebrate Osaka’s victory. Osaka addressed the crowd saying “I’m sorry it had to end like this. I just want to say thank you for watching the match.”
The Washington Post article Japanese, Haitian and now a Grand Slam winner: Naomi Osaka’s historic journey to the U.S. Open questions the turnout. “We will never know whether young Osaka really won the 2018 U.S. Open or had it handed to her by a man who was going to make Serena Williams feel his power.”
The New York Times article “Naomi Osaka Lost Her Moment of Triumph. Let’s Not Forget Her Match.” They state “Ramos could have handled the situation better, but no doubt, Williams could have handled it a lot better..” Later in the article, it talks about how Serena is using her “hard-earned” platform more to speak out about social issues.
First major victories are not supposed to feel like that, and Osaka will never get that back. Instead of praises and celebration, she had to try to hold back her tears and face a crowd booing at her. She handled everything going on, the emotions, the arguments, the crowd, well beyond her years.
The Men’s US Open finalist respond to this controversy from News.com respond with the need for equality, especially about behavior and conversation on court with chair umpires.
Novak Djokovic says there was a lot of emotion on that court “He did change the course of that match. (It) was in my opinion, maybe unnecessary. We all go through our emotions, especially when you are fighting for a grand slam trophy.”
Billie King, tennis star backs Serena up in Washington Post, claiming “When a man does the same, he’s “outspoken” and there are no repercussions. Thank you, Serena Williams, for calling out this double standard. More voices need to do the same.”
Since this match, Williams has been fined $17K for rules violations, according to the New York Times. She was fined $10,000 for “verbal abuse”, $4,000 for coaching violation, and $3,000 for breaking her racket.