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As a result of the controversy that erupted during the women's final of the US Open on Saturday, when chair umpire Carlos Ramos inflicted a game penalty to Serena Williams shortly before losing to Naomi Osaka , some of the biggest names in tennis, including Billie Jean King and Chris Evert and Novak Djokovic, have blamed Ramos for changing the game by beating Williams.
However, two other influential figures in the sport, Martina Navratilova and Mary Carillo, said Monday that the blame was more on Williams. Navratilova went so far as to write an editorial for the New York Times in which she claimed that by complaining after the match that Ramos would not have reacted in the same way to a argued player, Williams " missed the point "and would have been better served driving with" the respect of the sport we love so dearly. "
"I do not think it's a good idea to apply a standard of" If men can get out of it, women should be able too, "Navratilova said about Williams in his editorial. Rather, I think the question we need to ask ourselves is: what is the right way to behave to honor our sport and respect our opponents? "
Carillo, speaking on MSNBC, went further and said Williams "sometimes acts like a bully." She suggested that with a chance to match Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles in play, "the pressure be on" Williams, who should have understood that the "rules" of tennis dictated his punishment.
Williams "poisoned the atmosphere" for Osaka, who could barely celebrate his first Grand Slam title, Carillo said.
In the second half of the match, Williams lost 6-2, 6-4, Ramos first gave him a warning to get the help of his coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, who raised his anger, before making him a point to to have broken his racket. in frustration of losing a match. Williams then accused the referee of being a "thief" and falsely accusing him of cheating, which resulted in a match penalty that pushed his deficit from 4-3 to 5. -3.
After raining cries from the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, creating an embarrassing ceremony, Williams told reporters, "I can not sit here and say I would not say he is a thief. play of me. "
"I saw other men call several other referees," she continued. "I am fighting here for women's rights and for women's equality and for all kinds of things." For me to say "thief" and to take a game, that has given me the "right". impression that it was a sexist remark.
"He's never taken a man's match because they said" thief. "For me, it's blowing me, but I will continue to fight for women."
While Williams was fined $ 17,000 by the US Tennis Association for her behavior, she also received a statement of support from the head of the National Women's Organization, who called the Ramos decision " to openly punish racism and sexism ". adding, "It would not have happened if Serena Williams was a man."
King, a 12-time Grand Slam winner known for her activism for women's rights, wrote in a column for The Washington Post that Ramos was guilty of "abuse of power." Claiming that the referee "crossed the line" by "getting involved in the final result," King claimed that Ramos "chose to give Williams a very low latitude in a match where the stakes were highest ".
"Did Ramos treat Williams differently to male players? I think he did," King wrote.
Evert and Djokovic agreed that Ramos was too harsh, with the first on Twitter that the "referee" should have said or warned [Williams] After winning the men's final on Sunday, Djokovic told the press that Ramos "should not have pushed Serena to the limit" and "changed the course of the match".
Navratilova agreed with King and Evert that players receiving some form of pit coaching are commonplace and should be allowed. However, she asserted that Williams erred in opposing being called cheat by Ramos, because the warning came from Mouratoglou's actions – who later admitted that he was coaching – and it does not matter if Williams saw them or advantage.
"It's hard to know if Mrs. Williams could have called the referee a thief if she was a male player, but we can not focus on that." Grand Slam winning time, wrote. "If, in fact, men are treated with another measuring device for the same transgressions, this must be carefully examined and must be corrected.
"But we can not measure ourselves against what we think we can do – in fact, it's the kind of behavior that no one should take on the field."
Carillo, a former professional player who had a successful career as a sportsman, defended Ramos' reputation, claiming that he "played for decades" and that he was "very, very respected" in the tennis community. Noting that she had convened the women's final of the tennis channel with former US Open winner and world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, she stated that Davenport had told her audience that the next offense would cost Williams a game.
"If you follow tennis at all, you know these rules and they are inviolable," Carillo said.
From Williams, Carillo said, "At the highest point – and she is very often at her best – I respect and admire Serena beyond measure. She is so powerful, she is an important voice, she is a fierce competitor.
"But in her worst condition, that night, she's acting like a brute."
Calling King his "hero", a "mentor" and a "great friend", said Carillo, "a lot of those people who weigh and say double standard, I say, you know what?" That's not the hill you want to die. "
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