Well done Juan Ramos.
Ramos, in the umpire’s chair for the US Open women’s single’s final between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, will today be reflecting on one of the most iconic outbursts in sporting history.
He handled the situation absolutely perfectly. Let’s just look at Serena Williams for a moment, not forgetting her power off the court, shouldn’t make any difference to how she’s treated on it. She is one of the greatest sportswomen ever, had to deal with adversity/racism/sexism all her life, and has inspired millions of women across the world to be better people everyday. Her will, strength and class will put her into history books as one of the best to ever play our game.
Does that mean she shouldn’t be punished if breaking the rules? No. Would the media and public have made such a reaction if this happened to Osaka? No. Serena Williams is not bigger than the sport of tennis. The same rules apply to her, as every other player.
Serena and her team broke the rules. It’s as simple as that. The first warning came for Patrick Mouratoglou gesturing to her to move up the court, which is coaching.
Mouratoglou stated after the match that coaching from the stands happens all the time from many different coaches, I’m sure it does. But if it’s spotted by the umpire, they must punish it, otherwise how will it ever stop?
The point penalty was triggered when Williams smashed her racquet on the court, which all players know is an instant breach of conduct.
The game penalty was given after Williams, in a lengthy tirade, loudly accused the umpire of being a “thief” stealing points from her. Ramos never responded to Williams’ outburst, showing great composure until Williams accused him of cheating. She was the antagonist.
All players know that publicly attacking the honesty of the umpire is going to result in an immediate code violation.
Ramos made absolutely the correct calls as a chair umpire in each of these three incidents.
A player of Williams’ experience, should have had the audacity to regain composure, accept the two penalties and re-focus. Instead, she completely lost her mind and crossed the line. This was not a racist or sexist attack from Ramos, and it’s ridiculous to even suggest so. Everything he done was in line with the rule book.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Serena Williams or Joe Bloggs, once you step on that court, you are treated the same as your opponent. The umpire, ball staff and players have jobs to do and rules to oblige by. Serena broke hers, Ramos didn’t.
Spare a thought for Naomi Osaka on the other side of the net. Bidding to become Japan’s first ever Grand Slam winner – up a set and a break against her idol in the US Open final, and having to stand for 10 minutes while Williams berates the officials. To see Osaka crying because of fans booing the trophy presentation was completely wrong, she probably dreamed of that moment from being a young girl, and has had it all destroyed because it always has to be about Serena Williams.
Finally, well done to Ramos. Many umpires wouldn’t of had the courage to punish Williams on such a big stage – but he was right to do so and stuck by his decision. He has been let down by fellow colleagues over the years, who have failed to punish coaches clearly breaking the rules. Maybe we’ll see coaching from the stands punished more often now, which will benefit everyone in the long run. Juan Ramos, making the game fair.
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