Gazelle
G.O.A.T.
Serena hinted she may not return to the U.S Open.
Good riddance. The worst Serena moments seem to happen at the USO. Like the line judge incident in 2009. Of course, that wasn't her fault either.
Serena hinted she may not return to the U.S Open.
Hemingway wrote that courage is grace under pressure.
Serena Williams' behavior today pretty much confirmed to me that she is a coward and a bully.
If I were a USTA member I would cancel my membership in response to the statement Katrina Adams released on behalf of the organization.
Whatever you think of Serena and Naomi (and I adore Naomi), there is no doubt in my mind that the chair acted improperly.
I think there was gender bias at work. The first coaching violation? Deserved. The second violation? Deserved.
But I cannot begin to count the number of times men have sat in their chairs on changeovers and had heated discussions with umpires, and nothing whatever happens. But when it is Serena, it is a game penalty in the final. Insane. Her words were actually civil -- saying she deserved an apology, no profanity, no threats.
Need more proof?
In this same tournament, we had a chair umpire come out of his chair to basically coach Kirios in front of God and everyone. The proper response would have been to enforce the code of conduct, but no. Ump goes easy on the man, and USTA backs up the umpire.
By that standard, Ramos should have come out of his chair and talked to Serena, calm her nerves, tell her he wants to help her. Nope -- game penalty (when the tirade was over and he could have let it go) to put Serena's opponent a game away from the championship.
Congratulations to Naomi, but what happened today was rooted in disparate treatment and sexism.
Ramos went out of his way to call the initial violation. I'm wagering not one person even thought about it until he made it an issue, and it's absolutely true that it goes on all the time and is usually not called."It was a technicality that could be called on any player in any match on any occasion and ludicrous in view of the power-on-power match that was taking place on the court between Williams and the 20-year-old Osaka."
To me her behavior was indeed out of line and I havnt argued that in any of these threads I’m arguing in. However what I am saying is at that moment on that stage and with the match likely essentially over it didn’t need to have been called to the letter of the law. I feel in sport the nuance matters. Sometime very little sometimes a lot. And in this case it mattered entirely too much.
Of all the wrong things this guy was the least wrong. I mean seriously he made a hand gesture.
HahahahaMerely
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Better with sound here:
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1038554313847709696/pu/vid/578x322/afCTmhnZnCXOYZ_z.mp4
In fact, the only reason for disallowing such coaching is that it could be argued that more successful players have better coaching, and young challengers might not even have one.Problems are in rules that are impossible to enforce. I would allow any form of coaching until it does not interfere with opposition.
Agree 100%. This put Referees in difficult position. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Ramos is here a scapegoat.In fact, the only reason for disallowing such coaching is that it could be argued that more successful players have better coaching, and young challengers might not even have one.
But the same is true of physios and a ton of other privileges that favor successful veterans.
What irritates me most is the inconsistency of the way rules are applied, which is set up with rules that are unenforceable or at least normally unenforced.
We all know that there is communication between boxes and players, and we all see players talking to their boxes all the time. Does anyone think that signals can't be invented to communicate, or that it is not being done?
That is the best post I've seen about the matter.Patrick was attempting to coach Serena, probably deserved a warning. Patrick was wrong.
Serena over-reacted and breaking her racket was beneath her as was her temper tantrum after she received the penalty. Serena was wrong.
The umpire went over-the-top with the game penalty because Serena called him a thief. If you're that thin-skinned you have no right to be an umpire and much worse is said to umpires every day without any repercussions. Umpire was wrong.
Serena calling this sexism, is harmful to women. It minimizes what "sexism" actually is. There were two women on that court and for Serena to claim "sexism" is illogical and stupid. Serena was wrong.
The US Open fans that booed Osaka are idiots. Osaka played a brilliant game, she is a big part of the future of Women's tennis and she deserved cheers and a standing ovation. US Open fans were wrong.
How can you not like symmetricity, geometric perfect shapes and well rounded bums? It's art....nature'sOP, stop posting so much. Already a 1000+ posts in just a few weeks. I don't need to see Nadal's tight ass 50 times a day.
Her points for the sexism is that men do far worse. And if you watch the video she doesn’t curse. Is of course angry but is venting from her chair and unless you hear her she isn’t even really showing him up. And again we have seen men curse at umpires and say for worse.
Game penalty might have gone too far in such a match. Could have given another point penalty. But if it is in the books then it means many other umpires are too lenient with tolerating bad behaviour.
Not surprising. The players know the truth, on court coaching happens all the time and goes unpunished yet Serena gets the warning/penalty in a slam final. Ludicrous. Men get away with far worse. Interesting hearing from the players perspective instead of some forum trolls.
You really want to play that card when there’s male tennis players like Kyrgios, Troicki and McEnroe? Mac is literally known for being an absolute roller coaster so you probably should shut up and stay quiet.
Seriosly he did nothing wrong. I hope ATP and officials should back him and confirm that he did a great job. No it isnt his job to calm down hysteric Serena.(Some people critical of Ramos because of that including Mats Wilander)Serena needs threapy.
Carlos, a sincere thank you for having the guts to stand up and call it like it is!
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Yes. It is just like time violations, and that's probably the only thing the clock does. It stops disputes, and very effectively. When the clock says zero, only a complete ass is going to argue. The violations become 100% transparent.Agree 100%. This put Referees in difficult position. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Ramos is here a scapegoat.
Man I hope I see coaching penalties far more on the men’s tour cause they happen all the damn time.
I agree with this:
Ramos went out of his way to call the initial violation. I'm wagering not one person even thought about it until he made it an issue, and it's absolutely true that it goes on all the time and is usually not called.
The initial mistake was Ramos's, and the idea that he had to do it is absolute BS.
But what followed was an absolute fluster cluck.![]()
The US Open fans that booed Osaka are idiots. Osaka played a brilliant game, she is a big part of the future of Women's tennis and she deserved cheers and a standing ovation. US Open fans were wrong.
Yes. It is just like time violations, and that's probably the only thing the clock does. It stops disputes, and very effectively. When the clock says zero, only a complete ass is going to argue. The violations become 100% transparent.
So either use a clock, or let the players play without time violations, the only two choices.
I think the wise choice here would be to ignore hand signals and so on, and I doubt the make much difference.
I think coaching has the capacity to make a huge difference. If a player implements a tactic they weren't using before they received the external advice it can change a match.
Yes. It is just like time violations, and that's probably the only thing the clock does. It stops disputes, and very effectively. When the clock says zero, only a complete ass is going to argue. The violations become 100% transparent.
So either use a clock, or let the players play without time violations, the only two choices.
I think the wise choice here would be to ignore hand signals and so on, and I doubt the make much difference.
Being accused of cheating in the heat of battle is not conducive to a calm reaction.
I suspect that two thirds of the people criticising Williams would have reacted similarly or worse.
Another journo afraid to call out Williams for fear of being labelled a racist.
Why risk writing something accurate when you can continue to be a sycophant, and not call her to account for her hideous attitude and behaviour.
You over-estimate the power of a hand gesture. The fact is that her coach couldn't help himself, and he is the one to blame.