theindependent | “Everyone was in a very awkward situation yesterday. A lot of emotions.
Serena was crying. Naomi was crying. It was really, really tough.
“But I have my personal opinion that maybe the chair umpire should
not have pushed Serena to the limit, especially in a Grand Slam final.
“He changed the course of the match, which in my opinion was
unnecessary. We all go through our emotions, especially when you're
fighting for a Grand Slam trophy.”
After the match Williams accused Ramos of sexism, claiming that he
had never deducted a game from a male player for calling him “a thief”.
The former world No 1 received backing on Sunday
from Steve Simon, the Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Tennis
Association, who claimed that umpires do not treat female players in the
same way as men.
Simon said in a statement: “The WTA believes that there should be no
difference in the standards of tolerance provided to the emotions
expressed by men versus women and is committed to working with the sport
to ensure that all players are treated the same. We do not believe that
this was done last night.”
