A Play by Play of Serena Williams’ Explosive Defeat Against Naomi Osaka
What seemed to be an awe-inspiring match between protégé and tennis superstar quickly turned sour, in a tournament that shocked the world. Fresh-faced Naomi Osaka seemed to have hit the jackpot when she was paired up against childhood idol Serena Williams in the 2018 United States Open.
Osaka had grown up admiring Williams, but what followed through during their match was anything but expected! Here’s a candid look from London X City into what happened during the controversial tournament: –
• The relatively innocent tournament took a turn for the worst when its chair umpire noticed a code violation against Williams’ coach –Patrick Mouratoglou.
Carlos Ramos has always been known for his painstaking eye to detail and for being strict, and he issued a coaching warning on the basis that he noticed Mouratoglou making some hand gestures to Williams on court. Mouratoglou then admitted to doing so, adding that it was no big deal and that most coaches did
so. The damage was already done by then, and Serena was not impressed.
• Serena then told off the umpire by stressing that she never did once cheat. She added that she has never once cheated to win, and ?she’d much rather lose’.
• Regardless of the storm brewing up on the field, Osaka to perform exceptionally. Williams reached her breaking point when she misfired the ball into the net. In what was probably the most shocking part of the match, Williams slammed her racket onto the ground, breaking it instantaneously. This earned her an automatic code violation.
• After this, things only got progressively worse. Williams danced back and forth with the umpire, insisting that she didn’t cheat and demanding an apology. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when she outright called Ramos a thief –saying that he stole a point for her. Williams then was issued another code violation for verbal abuse.
• Three code violations later, Williams forfeited the game. Still not very happy, she called on the referee to appeal her case. It was then that she started bringing up gender bias issues claiming that other male tennis players have gotten away with much worse. Her pleas fell on deaf ears however, as Williams still walked away a loser.
The match was won at 5-4 in Osaka’s honour, and she became one of the youngest Grand Slam champions in world history. Unfortunately, Osaka’s greatest win was celebrated with an unsavoury tone by the crowd who could be heard booing.
Osaka then burst into tears -whether from happiness, anger, confusion, fear or disappointment no one will know- as she stood side by side with Williams. In a recent interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Osaka mentioned that Williams made sure to tell her that the crowd wasn’t booing at her, and then went on to urge audiences to celebrate Osaka’s victory.
The world has reacted to this chaos in a number of ways. Australian cartoonists have drawn Williams as a hissy fit/sore loser, Williams herself being fined about $20,000 for her explosive behaviour and the Internet being divided on what was right.
Many believe that Williams’ claims of sexism had some substantiated evidence and praised her for speaking out on issues surrounding the tennis industry. On the other hand, many others also feel like it’s just another reason for Williams to justify being a sore loser. Regardless of what intentions were that day, London X City and the rest of the world continue to celebrate Osaka’s rise to fame and her excellent sportsmanship
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