Male Tennis Pros Admit They’ve Said Much Worse Than Serena Williams And Not Been Punished For It

Serena Williams, one of the greatest sportswomen of all time is facing se*ism in tennis once again, this time, after a controversial loss to bright newcomer Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open Women’s Final on Saturday. Chair umpire Carlos Ramos is in hot water after making questionable calls against Serena during the match. During the final match, the game’s umpire, Carlos Ramos, gave Williams three separate code violations—all of which she believes would not have been administered to a male player. Ramos a c c u s e d the tennis star of cheating by illegal coaching, which Williams vehemently denied. The umpire gave Serena a costly game penalty anyway, with Serena calling him a ‘thief’ and demanding an apology.

After the match, Williams said aloud what so many watchers were thinking: the umpire’s decisions were clearly influenced by se*ism.

I’m here fighting for women’s rights and women’s equality. And for me to say ‘thief’ and for him to take a game, made me feel like it was a se*ist remark. He’s never taken a game from a man, because he said thief. For me, it blew my mind.

❤️ @serenawilliams. The true definition of a hero. pic.twitter.com/9dvvvT8mkq
— Nina Garcia (@ninagarcia) September 9, 2018

And just in case there was any doubt, male tennis stars James Blake and Andy Roddick sounded off online, confirming they’ve done far worse and received no penalties at all.

In addition to the in-game penalty, Williams was also given a “$17,000 fine for three code vio-lations.”

Fellow tennis player Victoria Azarenka was watching Williams’s match, and live-tweeted her anger at what was happening.

Hearing from other tennis pros made a big difference to many online:

A change must be made…

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