Serena and the Male Judge

The policing of women, in sport and out

Everyone is buzzing about what happened at the US Open this weekend. If you’ve managed to avoid it, I’ll recap. In Saturday’s final against Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams — the greatest women’s tennis player ever, possibly the greatest tennis player ever, arguably the greatest athlete of all time — was penalized a point, and then a game, in a Grand Slam final, for reasons that prompt scrutiny. She then lost.

I’m an avid tennis fan and have been for many years. I love Serena, precisely because I’m a tennis fan. What occurred in this match was ugly and unprecedented. Carlos Ramos, the chair umpire, gave Serena a code violation for coaching, another for smashing her racquet, and a third for verbal abuse. Three strikes and you forfeit a game — those are the rules.

There is, however, much nuance to this situation.

• Code violation #1, for coaching, is a mess to parse. It is, indeed, a rule that players are not to receive coaching from the stands during a match. I hesitate to speak in absolutes, but everyone does it. Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena’s coach, didn’t miss a beat in admitting that he was making gestural suggestions from the stands (and that she wasn’t even looking at him). He also pointed out, as every tennis fan has witnessed, that everyone does it. We’ve seen coaches in the box nodding and gesturing to their players regularly. It is widely regarded as a silly rule, one that is not often penalized. Cut to a Grand Slam final, with tennis’ GOAT, and suddenly it’s a rule, front and center. Yes, it’s a rule. But, precedent and consistency.
• Code violation #2, smashing the racquet. She did it, it’s not allowed. Seems simple, but again — precedent and consistency. We see tantrum prone men on the tour smash racquets all the time, sometimes with a penalty, sometimes not. To precedent and consistency, I would add context. Second violation, Grand Slam final.
• Code violation #3, verbal abuse. This one was particularly astonishing, given the above: precedent, consistency, and context. Serena called Ramos a “thief,” she berated him for his decision and demanded an apology. She was angry and emotional, not uncommon among elite competitive athletes. But — Kyrgios. McEnroe. Connors. Roddick. Hewitt. On and…