Tennis Officials Shaken by Lack of Support for Chair Umpire Carlos Ramos
12th September 2018
Chair umpires and other officials are shaken by what they perceive as a lack of official support for chair umpire Carlos Ramos, given that his actions against Serena Williams during Saturday’s US Open women’s final were well within the rules.
“The umpiring fraternity is thoroughly disturbed at being abandoned by the WTA,” Richard Ings, a retired, elite Gold Badge umpire told ESPN.com on Tuesday. “They are all fearful that they could be the next Ramos. They feel that no one has their back when they have to make unpopular calls.”
Ramos cited Williams three times Saturday during her 6-2, 6-4 loss against Naomi Osaka — for getting coaching signals; for breaking her racket, which cost her a point; and for calling Ramos a thief, which cost her a game. The incident has sparked heated reactions, from former and current players to celebrities to the officials themselves.
We live in a world where truth does not matter, rules do not matter, civility does not matter — what matters is the Narrative, and the mob will determine who is the victim and hence the proper victor.
September 12th, 2018 at 08:07
There’s an “umpiring fraternity”?
Holy crap! How hypersensitive can we all get?!?
I saw the replay on ESPN. Serena threw a little fit. As athletes go, it was a pretty small meltdown. She looked at the umpire and said he was a thief for penalizing her. Compare that to the famous blow-ups that John McEnroe used to have on the court, where he screamed and cursed and threw stuff around. Pick a sport – any sport – and tell me that the word “thief” would get you a penalty. Wasn’t there a match a few weeks back where the umpire came down and “coached” a male player about his behavior?
I think Serena has a valid point. The umpires put up with a lot more from the male tennis players than from the women. It’s ok to have a rule, but if you don’t enforce it evenly, you open yourself up for criticism.