CARLOS Ramos is world famous. Thanks to the umpire’s intervention, the US Open women’s final has become the most talked-about tennis match in a long, long time.
Serena Williams is a great champion. Possibly the greatest ever, male or female. She has won 23 major singles trophies (compared to 20 from Roger Federer) and 39 majors in all (including 14 in women’s doubles and two in mixed doubles). She owns four Olympic gold medals.
Back in 1999, I had the privilege, together with the late Kits Borromeo and his son Fabby and my dad Bunny, to watch the US Open women’s final. It was Serena vs. Martina Hingis. The champion? A 17-year-old from California who claimed her first Grand Slam singles trophy. We witnessed the start of Serena’s greatness.
Nineteen years later facing a younger version of herself in Naomi Osaka, Serena was bidding to tie Margaret Court for the all-time leader in majors. She had lost the Wimbledon final a couple of months ago and the pressure was immense.
My opinion of the controversial match? Serena was wrong. As the TV host Mary Carillo put it best in a commentary: “At her very best — and she is very often at her very best — I respect and admire Serena beyond measure. She is so powerful, she’s an important voice, she’s a ferocious competitor.. But at her very worst, as she was on this night, she acts like a bully.”
I agree. Serena’s claim of no coaching? That she’s never lied before? That she was putting her reputation (and her being a mom) at stake? Well, her coach Patrick Mouratoglou admitted to coaching. And I’m sure the hand signals were done many times in the past. And Serena claims she had no knowledge of this? What’s the use of a coach giving hand signals if the player doesn’t know it? On that point alone, Serena foot faults.
The smashing of the racket. The berating of Carlos Ramos and calling him a “thief.” The pressure of winning — and Naomi’s incredible coolness and 116-mph serves— all collided and resulted in an emotional outburst from Mrs. Serena Williams Ohanian.
Serena lost twice: on the court and among the eyes of many fans worldwide. The biggest winner? The shy, innocent, super-talented lady with a similar name as Japan’s second largest metropolis.
We thought Naomi Osaka was the victim amidst the Williams-Ramos fight. Naomi cried. Her excellent tennis play was lost in the squabble. But now, because of the resulting attention that this brouhaha incited, she’s become a global celebrity.
The world is talking about her more than the tennis followers are talking about Novak Djokovic’s US Open and Wimbledon trophies captured in a span of two months. The controversy has resulted in people talking about tennis. And it has divided many. Some say Serena was unjustly penalized. Some say the umpire should have been less strict, maybe giving a soft warning about the “you’re a thief” words were uttered instead of the outright game penalty that catapulted Naomi to an unassailable 5-3 lead in the 2nd set.
1-0 in favor of Naomi. This is a win for Osaka, Japan.