Yesterday I described a twitter firestorm that erupted following disclosure that Serena Williams had constructed a Laykold tennis court at her residence prior to the 2020 US Open. Some fans felt that the USTA was providing Serena with an unfair advantage. Others speculated that the organization was trying to make amends for “stealing” the US Open Finals from her in 2018. In the aftermath of that match, the USTA started an initiative to better educate tennis fans on the rules of the sport. Based on that twitter thread, it might not be working.
In case you were in a coma in 2018, Serena played Naomi Osaka in the US Open Finals. To raise the stakes even further, had Serena prevailed (which she did not) it would have been her 24th Grand Slam singles title moving her into a tie with Margaret Court for the most all-time. Osaka played brilliantly and won the first set. And then… well… all hell broke loose.
Chair umpire Carlos Ramos observed Serena’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, make a clear hand signal in the stands during the match. He issued a code violation for coaching. A second code violation was imposed when Serena smashed and threw her racquet. She received a third code violation for verbal abuse after she accused Ramos of being “a liar” and “a thief.” That third violation cost Serena a game in a match that she was already losing.
The Grand Slam tournaments operate under a “Grand Slam Rule Book” which is published by the ITF. The schedule of point penalties for code violations is short and clear.
The Point Penalty Schedule to be used for violations set forth above is as follows:
However, after the third Code Violation, the Referee in consultation with the Grand
- FIRST offence WARNING
- SECOND offence POINT PENALTY
- THIRD AND EACH SUBSEQUENT offence GAME PENALTY
Slam Chief of Supervisors shall determine whether each subsequent offence shall constitute a default. Article III, Section S, Point Penalty Schedule from the Grand Slam Rulebook
The Fans at the US Open clearly didn’t understand the rules. Without the benefit of television microphones and replay, they had no clue what was happening. The match and awards ceremony was played out against a chorus of boos. Subsequent to the match, some claimed that Ramos could have shown more discretion. The simple fact of the matter is that he enforced the rules as they are written. Officials exist to prevent one player from enjoying an unfair advantage over their opponent. Ramos was simply doing his job.
The rules are also clear that coaching is a violation. Here is another excerpt from the Grand Slam Rule Book: “Players shall not receive coaching during a match (including the warm-up). Communications of any kind, audible or visible, between a player and a coach may be construed as coaching.” A little later in the same section it continues, “In addition, if such violation occurs during a match (including the warm-up), the player shall be penalised in accordance with the Point Penalty Schedule hereinafter set forth.”
Whether or not Mouratoglou was coaching is not up for debate. On the sidelines of the match he admitted to Pam Shriver that Ramos had it exactly right.
The USTA held a two-day conference a few months after that episode. The USTA focus was on “strengthening officiating” and making it more understandable to the audience. The US Open now posts code violations on the scoreboard as they occur. That is intended to increase fan awareness of the rules and penalties.
“It was clear fans didn’t understand the rules, and that’s on us.”
Stacey Allaster, the USTA’s chief executive for professional tennis
Subsequent to that match, the WTA has loosened the rules on coaching for women’s tour events. However, the prohibition on coaching for the Grand Slams has not been modified.
Tomorrow we will dig a little deeper into the aftermath of that 2018 US Open Finals and examine what writer Gerald Marzorati calls the “Beyonce-fication” of how the tennis mega-stars interact with the media. Returning to the twitter idea that the finals were “stolen” from Serena… nothing could be further from the truth.
Serena was losing and then she lost it. Blaming Carlos Ramos or gender inequities in tennis is simply not intellectually honest.
- U.S. Open Officiating a Year Later: More Explanations for the Audience, Christopher Clarey, The New York Times, August 23, 2019.
- Official Grand Slam Rule Book, International Tennis Federation, 2021.
