After a heated dispute between tennis official Carlos Ramos and tennis player Serena Williams, the sporting world is in outrage.
Public figures, such as former professional tennis player and women’s rights activist, Billie Jean King, are backing Williams, claiming she was a victim of a double standard, and she would not have been treated the way she was by the official if she was male.
Few are backing Ramos, claiming that Williams acted “hysterically” and verbally abused him during the match. The way Ramos called the match was fair, and the way Serena reacted was understandable, but was not correct in this situation.
Ramos has been officiating high-profile tennis matches on the professional circuit since 1991, including the finals of Wimbledon, US Open and the Olympics. He is known for his rigid and unforgiving style of officiating toward both men and women.
During a fourth-round match at the 2017 French Open, Ramos issued a code violation towards Rafael Nadal for taking too much time before a serve. Nadal was outraged and told Ramos he would never officiate one of his matches again. During the 2018 Wimbledon tournament, Ramos delivered a code violation to Novak Djokovic for slamming his racket on the ground after he lost a set.
In Williams’ case, she was issued a warning for an illegal coaching violation when her coach Patrick Mouratoglou gestured to her from the stands. She was then issued a code violation and loss of a point for slamming her racket to the ground due to the earlier warning.
Ramos could have privately addressed the coaching violation to Williams and asked Mouratoglou to stop, however he did it publicly, resulting in a later loss of a point. Ramos’ style of officiating is unpopular among players and other officials, however it is not sexist or discriminatory.
Williams has seen discrimination all throughout her tennis career. After going pro in 1995, she has been the winner of 23 Grand Slams, which is second all time. Having been all over the professional tennis circuit, she has been discriminated in matches in the past. For example, following her win at the French Open in June 2015, Williams was compared to an animal, likened to a man and deemed frightening and horrifyingly unattractive. At the 2001 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Serena and twin sister Venus Williams were heading to their seats to witness a match when fans called them racist slurs and even threatened their lives.
Williams is not new to the abuse that comes with her competing on the big stage; however in the events of the US Open final, she claimed the official was a “thief” and that it was a sexist act for him to take a game from her. Ramos should have handled the situation in a more private manner, however Serena had no right to accuse Ramos of being sexist in the way he officiated the match.
By John Pullano, Contributing Writer
pullanjj18@bonaventure.edu
