<font color=brown>@ <b>CrossCourtBH</b>:</font>
This is a regrettable situation for Ree in the twilight of her career as she cements her legacy which explains Navratilova's eagerness to bash her on this issue.
In any event, she's forging a discussion about umpiring that's long overdue much to the dismay of the so called "fraternity" who's taken aback by the lack of full support. And as she's done with heralding the institution of hawk-eye, she'll have a similar impact here. Curious to see what the road map looks like from here.
|
Novak On SERENA
Tennis officials shaken by lack of support for chair umpire Carlos Ramos 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 International Tennis Federation defended Carlos Ramos, the chair umpire who gave Serena Williams three code violations during the US Open final, saying his "decisions were in accordance with the relevant 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. The Times of London reported Tuesday "there was a growing consensus that umpires were 'not supported' by the USTA on several occasions, and that Ramos was 'thrown to the wolves for simply doing his job and was not willing to be abused for it'." The report also cited an anonymous source who said officials were considering a boycott of future matches involving Serena Williams. But Ings, who maintains strong contacts among active officials, said any organized action is unlikely. That's partly because the officials have no fraternal organization, no "umpire's union" that might orchestrate a boycott. Besides, there are only two or three top-level, professional Gold Badge umpires at any given tournament. "Umpires are just upset," Ings added. "They're thinking 'what if?'" USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier told ESPN.com that the organization was not aware of any rumors of a boycott by officials. But he said the controversy, along with others that occurred during the tournament, "opens an opportunity to bring greater clarity and hold a conversation with officials about how things could have been better handled in terms of our policies." Widmaier said the feeling at USTA is that there needs to be a push to ensure consistency in the application of the rules, including coaching violations and shirt changes by women players. But, he said, "We recognize that the officials we use from around the world are very good at what they do." http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/2 ... os-ramos[b][/b] Last edited by Grossefavourite on Sep Tue 11, 2018 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total. <font color=brown>@ <b>Grossefavourite</b>:</font> There is a video of this very same Ramos giving a warning to Djokovic (in a match vs Schwartzman) for his attitude towards the umpire.... it was not even 20% of what Serena did. So Ramos was quite tolerant with Serena - probably because this warning would trigger a game loss. In 2017, Fognini even got suspended from the US Open for verbal abuse of an umpire. In 2009, Federer was fined at the US Open for verbal abuse too (use of a swear word) (And in Madrid 201 too)... Last edited by Graveller on Sep Tue 11, 2018 6:59 pm, edited 2 times in total. "Never argue with an idiot - they take you down to their level and then beat you on experience" "Don't wrestle with a pig: you both get dirty, but the pig actually likes it"
Re:Novak On SERENAThe question that needs to be raised is why did the chair (Ramos) decide to call a coaching violation on Patrick during a grand slam final and at that particular moment in the match? I think there was some subtle subterfuge at play in the chair's call. The coaching is so common now that some coaches don't even try to hide it as was pointed out by the announcers during the Nadal vs Theim match. At least Patrick was trying to be discreet, and quite honestly I don't think whatever he was trying to get Serena to do was going to help anyway as Naomi was completely outplaying her. So in my humble opinion the chair was simply trying to provoke Serena into an emotional response being that she was already frustrated with her own sloppy play and the crisp playing from Naomi. It was an attempt to nudge her over the edge, and it worked. It's just another example of how Serena seems to get singled out, just like all the drug testing she has to undergo, and cited for these infractions that others don't. Now with that being said Serena for her part needs to learn when it's time to retreat. I understand and get the passion and emotion, which by the way she's always had, but at some point you have to realize that you are waging a losing battle and it's time to just move on. You will not come out on the winning side of this no matter how much you keep harping on it. The chair, with Ramos at the helm, is not going to give Serena an apology. He's a man and will not give a woman an apology, and least of all a black woman. I know of no referee in any sport that will apologize to a player that he's penalized or caught breaking the rules, so for Serena to think she was going to get one was wishful thinking at best. Not to mention you are trying to win a tennis match and tie the record and all of this just completely changes your mindset and performance. So I hope Serena can look back at this and realize it didn't need to get that ugly and she could've gotten her anger out and then used that energy to get herself back in the match. Utterly disgusting! Not enough to have Naomi's victory marred, but now to blame Ramos for Serena's actions? No wonder she feels entitled to behave so childishly. Now, I see why she felt the need to bring sexism into this, it was a way to divert attention from her actions and get this current sjw feminist society to rally to her defense. On the issue that men get away with bad behaviour, some stats from the bbc on slams in 2018:#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#During the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2018 - Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open - 85 fines for code violations were issued to men.#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#33 for abuse of racquet or equipment#ed_op#br#ed_cl#16 for audible obscenity#ed_op#br#ed_cl#16 for "unsportsmanlike" conduct#ed_op#br#ed_cl#9 for coaching#ed_op#br#ed_cl#2 for first round retirement#ed_op#br#ed_cl#7 for start of match time, time violation, delay of game#ed_op#br#ed_cl#2 for verbal abuse#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#There were fewer issued to women - 43.#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#13 for coaching#ed_op#br#ed_cl#10 for audible obscenity#ed_op#br#ed_cl#10 for abuse of racquet or equipment#ed_op#br#ed_cl#5 for "unsportsmanlike" conduct#ed_op#br#ed_cl#3 for start of match time, time violation, delay of game#ed_op#br#ed_cl#1 for media conference#ed_op#br#ed_cl#1 for verbal abuse#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#Even is you correct for the fact than men play more sets, there are - on average - more warnings for men per set than for women.#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#Conclusion: another baseless fake-news statement debunked. Last edited by Graveller on Sep Wed 12, 2018 7:04 am, edited 1 time in total. "Never argue with an idiot - they take you down to their level and then beat you on experience" "Don't wrestle with a pig: you both get dirty, but the pig actually likes it"
Good. Now all concerned will be more aware of the issues. As my previous French boss would say, sometimes you just have to blow everything up and start fresh, and boy did he ever. The WTA is treated like a sideshow, a warm-up act or step child to the vaunted ATP. Go to any tournament website and the ATP's details (draw, etc) are listed first.
All players are treated equally. Players don't make endless drama when they receive code violation. Let's start to fix that. They do "cry" and whine after the first warning (Wozniacki and Jankovic come to mind), but they usually stop and get back in the match. They don't berate the umpire at every change-over. There should be a HUGE fine for doing that. Take your violation. Play your match. File a complaint after the match if you feel very strongly about the warning. Take your case to the Congress or the Supreme Court if that's what it will take. But don't behave live a 5-year old throwing tantrum. As I said earlier when this info was published, I can understand the umpires. I would not volunteer to ref Serena's matches either. Because any ref would be putting himself/herself in a situation where it doesn't take much to be called racist, bigot, sexist, "ugly inside", thief, etc... No one wants that, including you GrosseFav. Last edited by Ace2Ace on Sep Wed 12, 2018 11:02 am, edited 2 times in total.
|
