Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all time and has accomplished great things on the tennis court, but the 2018 US Open final wasn’t her finest moment
In the 2018 US Open women’s final, Naomi Osaka defeated the iconic Serena Williams in the final to win the title.
However, the Japanese star’s first Grand Slam victory was overshadowed by the legend’s anger at referee Carlos Ramos during the match. During the heated confrontation, she was fined £13,500 for breaking the rules three times and calling the officer a “liar” and “thief”.
The money comes from a $1.85 million bonus Williams received when she finished second at Flushing Meadows five years ago. The former world number one was initially frustrated when she was handed her first violation for “coaching” in the penalty area.
She told the official: “This is not coaching. I’m not going to cheat to win. I’d rather lose. I just want you to know that.” The 23-time Grand Slam winner broke her racquet in a rage after pulling Moss gave her a point. “I have never cheated in my life. You owe me an apology!” the American shouted. “I have a daughter and I have never cheated on her in my life.”
Williams was cited for a violation and suspended one game after threatening Ramos to never officiate any of their games again. As the crowd, the vast majority of which supported Williams, booed the referee, she smoked: “As long as you live, you will never be on another of my courts.
“You are attacking my character and you owe me an apology. You are a mess. You will never referee on my court as long as you live. Give me an apology. You stole a point from me and you are a thief. ” Williams then asked match referee Brian Earley to come on and when he did, accused him of sexism.
“Are you going to take this away from me because I’m a woman?” she asked when Earley tried to reason with her. Despite the chaos on the other side of the net, Osaka, then just 20 years old and playing in her first Grand Slam final, remained calm and prevailed 6-2, 6-4. Osaka burst into tears as the raucous New York crowd jeered during the trophy presentation ceremony after the game.
“I felt bad because I was crying and she was crying and she just won – I’m not sure if they were happy tears or sad tears because I felt at that moment that this is not how I felt when I won my first Grand Slam, and I think I definitely didn’t want her to feel that way. Maybe it was the mom in me that felt like we have to snap out of it.”
In a subsequent media conference, Williams discussed his heated exchange with the referee. “I’ve seen other people call other referees several things,” she said. “I’m here fighting for women’s rights, women’s equality, all kinds of things.
“I said ‘thief’ and he took a game away, which struck me as a sexist remark. He’s never had a game taken away from someone because they said ‘thief.’ To me, This blows my mind. But I will continue to fight for women.”
Although Williams is now retired from tennis, her shocking outburst at the U.S. Open will forever remain in the memory as one of the most infamous moments in the iconic tournament.