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The chair umpires and other officials are shaken by what they perceive as a lack of official support to the chair referee Carlos Ramos, knowing that his actions against Serena Williams in Saturday's women's final the US Open were well in the rules.
"The fraternity of referees is deeply troubled to be abandoned by the WTA," Richard Ings, an elite Gold Badge referee, told ESPN.com on Tuesday. "They are all afraid that they may be the next Ramos.They believe that no one has back when they have to make unpopular calls."
Ramos quoted Williams three times on Saturday in his 6-2, 6-4 loss to Naomi Osaka – for receiving training signals; for breaking his racket, which cost him a point; and for calling Ramos a thief, which cost him a match. The incident sparked strong reactions from former players and current players, celebrities and administrators themselves.
The London Times reported on Tuesday that there was a growing consensus that referees were "not supported" by the USTA on many occasions, and that Ramos was "thrown to the wolf for just doing his job." and did not want to be abused ".
The report also quotes an anonymous source who said officials were planning a boycott of upcoming matches involving Serena Williams.
But Ings, who has close contact between active leaders, said any organized action was unlikely. This is partly because the officials do not have a fraternal organization, no "referees union" that could orchestrate a boycott. In addition, there are only two or three top professional referees at the Gold Badge at a tournament. "The referees are just angry," Ings added. "They think" And if? "
USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told ESPN.com that the organization was unaware of any boycott rumors by officials. But he said that the controversy, as well as others that occurred during the tournament, "open up an opportunity to bring clarity and hold a conversation with officials about how things could have been better handled. in terms of policies ".
Widmaier said the feeling at the USTA is that there must be pressure to ensure consistency in the application of the rules, including coaching violations and changes of jerseys by the players. But, he said, "we recognize that the officials we use around the world are very good at what they do."
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