For my paper, I actually wrote about this match and the different articles about this match against Serena Williams and Naomi Osaki in the final match of the Grand Slam. This article had the latest information, and I definitely wanted to keep up with this story. This is newsworthy because Serena and Naomi are celebrities. In other articles, it was mentioned that this kind of thing has not come up before in this high up of a competition and that it was rare. This article has prominence because of who is involved, the conflict between Serena and the chair umpire, the importance of this match, the unusual scenario, and the popular topic of interest, equality.
“You stole a point from me and you are a thief.” Serena Williams was charged $17K for this U.S. Open argument. Three fines of $10,000 for verbal abuse, $4,000 for coaching warning, and $3,000 for breaking her racket. In the match, she wasn’t playing as well, and the chair umpire Carlos Ramos noticed hand gestures from her coach, in a coaching matter of how to move. He made a formal penalty for coaching. Serena confronted him and said “We don’t have any code, and I know that you don’t know that and I understand why you may have thought that was coaching, but I am telling you it’s not. I don’t cheat to win, I’d rather lose.” Later in the match, she slammed her racket into the court, causing her to get another point violation.
Frustrated from the score, and confused why had given her the first point violation, she continued to argue with Ramos throughout the match. Once she called him a thief, he called another point violation for verbal abuse, which after three-point violations, shortens the match to the final point. Flustered, she lost and blamed the ruling on a bias. She claimed that men say worse things to umpires, and do not get called out for it.
Billie King, tennis star tweeted about the match, congratulating Osaki, and calling out the double standard. Billie King promotes gender equality in tennis herself as well and supported Serena’s actions of calling attention to what happened.
I think I mentioned on your draft that Osaki is maybe the biggest loser in this situation. What should have been her moment of triumph got buried on Serena’s blowup.