Serena Williams Erupts Over Penalty in U.S. Open Loss to Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam singles title, beating her idol Serena Williams, 6-2, 6-4, Saturday in the United States Open final.
The historic moment was marred by controversy, as Williams grew increasingly incensed at the chair umpire Carlos Ramos for assessing her code violations and ultimately said that officials did not treat men so harshly.
The first code violation was for coaching, after her coach Patrick Mouratoglou gestured to her, and resulted in only a warning. Williams told Ramos that she “never cheats.” A few games later, Williams broke her racket, earning a point penalty. When she called Ramos “a thief” for stealing the point from her during a prolonged rant, she was given a game penalty.
At that point Williams called for the tournament referee and supervisor, and complained that her punishment was not fair.
“There are men out here that do a lot worse, but because I’m a woman, because I’m a woman you’re going to take this away from me?” she said. “That is not right.”
