Even four decades of distinguished professional umpiring experience would not have prepared Ramos fully for what was about to happen. I should know. My welcome to the job match happened at the 1987 US Open. I was the chair umpire for the fourth-round stadium court match between John McEnroe and Slobodan Zivojinovic where I issued a warning, point penalty and a game penalty against McEnroe. The game penalty, for a string of obscenities directed at me, came at 4-5, costing McEnroe the set and making the match one set all. Tirade: John McEnroe vocalising his displeasure at umpire Ings in 1987. Credit:AP The memories and scars of my welcome to the job match are fresh even more than 30 years later. Ramos will be going through much the same emotions.

As someone that has sat in the umpire’s chair in front of a raucous full house US Open crowd and been tested under fire in front of a global television audience, I have a great deal of empathy and admiration for Ramos and his officiating. In the course of this match, Ramos issued a warning, a point penalty and a game penalty against Williams for violations of the grand slam code of conduct. The warning was triggered when Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, made clear and repeated coaching gestures to his player on the court. For a professional umpire, keeping an eye on the coach is standard practice. All coaches know that such hand gestures are a breach of the code of conduct. The decisions made by Ramos had nothing to do with sexism or racism.

The point penalty was triggered when Williams destroyed her racquet on the court after having her serve broken. Apart from the bad look for the sport of a player violently breaking a racquet on court, it is also dangerous to on-court officials, ball persons and front-row spectators as shards go flying. All players know that destroying a racquet on the court is a mandatory code violation. The game penalty was triggered after Williams, in a lengthy tirade, loudly accused the umpire of being a "thief" stealing points from her. Ramos let the tirade slide, showing great composure until Williams accused him of cheating. 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.

This match was not Serena Williams' finest hour. Credit:AP Williams is the greatest female tennis player to ever play the game. Her playing record on the court is legendary. I can never truly appreciate the real sexism and racism that Williams will have absolutely faced in her life and career. Her iconic status speaking out on racism and sexism off the court is inspiring. She is a positive role model in every sense. Loading However, Williams faced neither sexism or racism in this grand slam final. We should not let her record, as glowing as it is, overshadow the fact that on this day, in this match Williams was wrong. The decisions made by Ramos had nothing to do with sexism or racism. They had everything to do with observing clear breaches of the grand slam code of conduct and then having the courage to call them without fear or favour.

This match was not Serena Williams' finest hour. She lost to a better player and in the process lost her cool in spectacular fashion. It is Williams who owes an apology to Ramos, not the other way around. Richard Ings was a professional chair umpire from 1986 to 1993 and was ATP Tour Executive Vice-President, Rules and Competition, from 2001 to 2005.