Serena Williams Tells Chair Ump: 'I Don't Cheat To Win, I'd Rather Lose'
(CBS News/CBSLA) — Serena Williams argued with a chair umpire during the U.S. Open finals who gave her several penalties, telling him "I don't cheat to win, I'd rather lose." Williams lost the match 6-2-, 6-4 to 20-year-old Naomi Osaka, who won her first ever Grand Slam.
Williams tearfully demanded an apology from chair umpire Carlos Ramos when the penalty against Williams gave a game to Osaka.
"I don't cheat to win. I'd rather lose."
— espnW (@espnW) September 8, 2018
—Serena to the chair umpire after receiving a coaching violation pic.twitter.com/v6Q2GWYYOn
Ramos gave Williams several code penalties: The first one was a warning for a coaching violation, the second warning was when she broke her racket, which gave a point to Osaka. Williams was given a third penalty for calling Ramos a "thief." That penalty put Osaka up 5-3, meaning she only needed one more game to win the match.
Williams told Ramos that she was not being coached, and she would never cheat. She demanded an apology, calling him a "thief" and a "liar."
"I have never cheated in my life," Williams said. "I have a daughter and I stand for what is right and I have never cheated."
Osaka, who has called Williams her idol, tearfully said upon winning that she knew the crowd was cheering for Williams and she was "sorry it had to end like this."
Williams comforted Osaka as the crowd booed her during the final announcement. She interrupted the speaker, saying, "I don't wanna be rude, but I don't want to interrupt, do questions. I just wanna tell you guys she played well, and this is her first Grand Slam," as she, too, appeared to become emotional amid the ensuing cheers from the audience.
.@serenawilliams instructs crowd to stop booing and celebrate @Naomi_Osaka_'s moment of winning her first grand slam. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/LOAyB42OmQ
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) September 8, 2018
Dictionary.com retweeted the video above with the following message: "Class is defined as informal. elegance, grace, or dignity. See also: Serena Williams after Naomi Osaka's Grand Slam win."
Class is defined as informal. elegance, grace, or dignity.
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) September 8, 2018
See also: Serena Williams after Naomi Osaka's Grand Slam win. https://t.co/nc0Nsu1h8V https://t.co/MNG0hBa90c
Many others came to Williams' defense Saturday, pointing out men are rarely penalized for much more egregious behavior.
This feels like a good time to share @andyroddick's legendary 2001 #USOpen outburst in a QF match vs. @lleytonhewitt. Roddick was given a code violation for calling the chair umpire a "moron" after the umpire overruled a call on the far sideline. pic.twitter.com/oGGaLqe0jj
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) September 8, 2018
When McEnroe and Nastace and Roddick and Agassi did it it was "passion" and "competitiveness" and "harmless entertainment." When Serena Williams does it it's "inappropriate" and a "meltdown" and a "bad example for her daughter." #UsOpenFinal
— Danielle Campoamor (@DCampoamor) September 8, 2018
" I was a [jerk] a lot of the time, and I didn't get a quarter of the criticism that she ever got." Andy Roddick on Serena in @USAToday, in 2015.
— Martine St-Victor (@MartineMontreal) September 8, 2018
That could have been said by Jimmy Connors, McEnroe, Djokovic and many many others. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/5MWOR2hSWq