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Double Standards For Serena?

First off congrats to 20 year old Naomi Osaka who bagged her first grand slam tennis title beatin...



Double Standards For Serena?
Other Sports

Double Standards For Serena?

First off congrats to 20 year old Naomi Osaka who bagged her first grand slam tennis title beating none other than Serena Williams in the US Open womens final in New York.

Sadly for Naomi, Serena Williams outbursts and the penalties imposed over them have overshadowed what should be a great occastion for the youngster.

Here's a recap in case you missed it.

Was Serena treated any differently than another player who became infamous for his outbursts? Or men in general for that matter?

One body certainly thinks so.

Serena Williams' claims of sexism in the final have been backed by the governing body of women's tennis.

WTA chief executive Steve Simon said the umpire showed Williams a different level of tolerance of Saturday's outbursts than if she had been a man.

She got a code violation for coaching, a penalty point for racquet abuse and a game penalty for calling the umpire a "thief" in the loss to Naomi Osaka.

The American said it was "sexist" to have been penalised a game.

"The WTA believes that there should be no difference in the standards of tolerance provided to the emotions expressed by men vs. women," Simon said in a statement.

"We do not believe that this was done."

Umpire Carlos Ramos penalised Williams after seeing her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, making a hand gesture.

The Frenchman later admitted he was trying to coach his player. The head of the United States Tennis Association, which organises the US Open, said men "are badgering the umpire on the changeovers and nothing happens".

"We watch the guys do this all the time," USTA chief Katrina Adams said. "There's no equality when it comes to what the men are doing to the chair umpires and what the women are doing, and I think there has to be some consistency across the board.

"I'm all about gender equality and I think when you look at that situation these are conversations that will be imposed in the next weeks. We have to treat each other fairly and the same."

Williams was fined $17,000  for the code violations that included calling Ramos a "liar" and "thief". She earned $1.85m  in prize money for reaching the final.

 Novak Djokovic was asked about Williams' outbursts after he won a third men's US Open title on Sunday by beating Juan Martin del Potro.

He said the interventions by umpire Carlos Ramos were "unnecessary" and said they "changed the course of the match".

There's also further backing for Serena from one of the game's greats.

 

I'm not a parent but here's the thing. Should there be any abuse be allowed on the court from males or females? What message does it send out to youngsters?

Some have argued that there is a culture in tennis, like soccer to allow highly paid athletes get away with behaviour that would start a fight or result in an arrest in the street.

Should that be allowed?

One thing is certain that the whole saga has detracted from the extraordinary achievement of 20 year old Naomi Osaka in winning her first grand slam final in her first appearance.

That's just sad.

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