US Open: Serena’s rule-breaking coach turns on umpire

Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou has launched an attack on chair umpire Carlos Ramos.

Umpire Carlos Ramos. Picture: AFP

Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who sparked the controversy that marred yesterday’s US Open women’s final by instructing his charge from the stands, has launched an attack on chair umpire Carlos Ramos.

“The star of the show has been once again the chair umpire,” he said on social media. “Second time in this US Open and third time for Serena in a US Open final. Should they be allowed to have an influence on the result of a match? When do we decide that this should never happen again?”

Williams received three code violations and was docked an entire game after receiving instructions from her coach, which is against the rules, and then calling Ramos a “thief”, sparking a controversy that has taken the spotlight away from Japanese winner Naomi Osaka.

Former US Open finalist turned commentator Pam Shriver also criticised Ramos for failing to maintain control.

“One of the main roles of an umpire is to keep order in a match, and order was lost,” Shriver said. However she said some blame must lie with Williams. “Serena has some certain blame for it, because she couldn’t let go.”

And Russian player Elena Vesnina made it clear who she thought was responsible. “I was sad to see that Naomi was crying like she lost this final, but she was just playing better today. And no doubt Serena is the greatest champion and GOAT, but that’s rules. It was a really heartbreaking final.”

Former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka backed Williams’ claim that she had been penalised by the umpire because she was a woman.

“If it was men’s match, this wouldn’t happen like this. It just wouldn’t,” the two-time major winner said on Twitter

Former champion Billie Jean King also said there was a double standard in tennis when it came to rules applied to women compared to men.

King tweeted: “When a woman is emotional, she’s ‘hysterical’ and she’s penalised for it.” She added that if a male player had a similar outburst, he’d be called “outspoken” and have no repercussions. King also tweeted that coaching should be allowed in tennis

Meanwhile, in Japan, Osaka’s stunning upset win gave the nation some rare good news after a summer of deadly natural disasters. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tweeted: “ Thank you for giving energy and inspiration to the whole of Japan.”

Agencies