Making A Racket! Serena Williams Slams Official During Brutal U.S. Open Loss
Sept. 9 2018, Updated 10:00 p.m. ET
Serena Williams melted down on the U.S. Open court during her womens' singles finals match on Saturday.
The tennis superstar, who was playing Naomi Osaka for the title in New York, received a violation penalty from chair umpire Carlos Ramos for illegal coaching from her player box during the first set.
Ramos believed Williams' coach was signaling her on the court. The athlete questioned the matter, snapping at him, “I don’t cheat to win, I’d rather lose. I’m just letting you know.”
Later, when the ref also gave her a point penalty for smashing her racket, Williams completely lost it!
Williams berated Ramos: “You will never, ever, ever be on another court of mine as long as you live. You are the liar. When are you going to give me my apology? You owe me an apology. Say it. Say you’re sorry. … And you stole a point from me. You’re a thief, too!”
The tennis player, 36, who gave birth to a daughter by Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, 35, a year ago, on Sept. 1, 2017, then lost her September 8 match against Osaka. After the contest, 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams continued to whine at a press conference, charging she was penalized due to sexism in tennis.
“I’m going to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to have equal rights,” said Williams, who got married to Ohanian in an over-the-top fairytale wedding last year.
She added about smashing her racket and ranting on the court, “I just feel like the fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person that has emotions and that want to express themselves, and they want to be a strong woman, and they’re going to be allowed to do that because of today.”
When a reporter asked Williams what she would change about her bizarre battle with the referee, she replied, “I can’t sit here and say I wouldn’t say he’s a thief because I thought he took a game from me, but I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things, and I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality and for all kinds of stuff.”
“And for me to say thief, and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He’s never took a game from a man because they said thief.”
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