Serena Williams reacted angrily towards umpire Carlos Ramos (Picture: Getty)

The 2018 US Open women’s singles final will go down in history as one of the most memorable Grand Slam matches, but for all the wrong reasons.

While we should be celebrating the remarkable talent that is 20-year-old Naomi Osaka, who became the first man or woman from Japan ever to win a major, a row between Serena Williams and umpire Carlos Ramos has stolen the spotlight.

The spark that ignited the fire came at the start of the second set, when Ramos handed the American a coaching violation.

Williams reacted angrily to the call, claiming her coach Patrick Mouratoglou had just given her a thumbs up.




‘It was not coaching. I do not cheat to win. I would rather lose. I just want you to know that,’ she told Ramos on court.

Williams did not respond well to the incident (Picture: Corbis via Getty)

The problem is, cameras clearly caught Mouratoglou trying to send a message to her – and he admitted as much after the match.

‘I am honest. I was coaching. I don’t think she looked one time. Sascha was coaching every point too,’ he confessed.

Regardless of whether Williams saw it or not, he has a right to give her a code violation for Mouratoglou’s attempts to coach mid-match.

The fact that Osaka’s coach may or may have not been coaching is also irrelevant – he wasn’t caught.

Williams took the decision as a personal slight against her, which it simply wasn’t.

Osaka’s night was overshadowed by Serena’s actions (Picture: Getty)

Neither was the code violation for racquet abuse, which saw her lose a point.

And finally, neither was the code violation she was handed for ‘verbal abuse’ – which cost her a game.

Here’s a fragment of what Serena said: ‘You owe me an apology. You will never ever ever be on another court of mine as long as you live. You are a liar. Say it, say you’re sorry. You stole a point from me. You’re a thief, too.’

It clearly states in the Grand Slam rule book ‘verbal abuse is defined as a statement about an official, opponent, sponsor, spectator, or other person that implies dishonesty or is derogatory, insulting or otherwise abusive.’

It is hard to argue that by that definition, her rant doesn’t qualify as verbal abuse.

By the letter of the law, Ramos is absolutely within his rights to hand her three code violations – the first serves as a warning, the second a point penalty and the third a game penalty.

This was not an attack on Serena, merely a man doing his job.

That’s not to say her frustration is not understandable. There was immense pressure upon her shoulders heading into this final, chasing a historic 24th Grand Slam title.

She has also been involved in multiple incidents on this court before, which no doubt added fuel to the fire burning within.

We are all human; we get caught up in the moment. Even the great Serena Williams, who has so often stood for what’s right in the face of societal injustice.



But that doesn’t mean she’s not wrong on this one.

Osaka was in tears during the trophy presentation (Picture: Getty)

It was her coach who was caught coaching, she who took personal offence to a fair umpire’s ruling, she who smashed her racquet and she who brought the umpire’s integrity into question.

And for that, she should apologise to Ramos.

She’s so offended by what a code violation says of her own character that she’s completely forgotten the manner in which she’s torn apart his. Not to mention the witch hunt that has followed on social media from those blinded by their hero stepping out of line.

Of course, one can challenge the rules and their application.

It’s true that other umpires aren’t so willing to call coaching violations. But there are countless examples of Ramos taking on the game’s biggest stars. He’s a stickler for the rules. In fact, he’s one of the few umpires who correctly applies them.

Williams should reflect on her actions (Picture: USA/PA)

This wasn’t personal. Serena made it personal.

To her credit, she stepped in to stop the crowd booing Osaka during the trophy presentation – a moment which will no doubt leave its mark on a young player who should have been celebrating a historic moment.

However, there was no need to be in a situation where the crowd were spitting venom towards the court in the first place.

Undoubtedly, Serena’s actions led to this scenario.

Hopefully she will look back on this incident and accept that, on this occasion, she was wrong.