Tennis and All That

Yesterday, the ITF’s facebook page announced their support 1 for the umpire, Carlos Ramos and the decisions he took during the Women’s Final to give Serena Williams code violations. My comment today on their post was: “No, his decisions were not in accordance with the wording or definitions of the Grand Slam Rulebook 2018, see page 44 under 'Coaches and Coaching'. Serena did not "receive" the coaching nor was there "communications...between" her and her coach. Both Serena (during and post match) and her coach (interview with Pam Shriver) have made that clear, she didn't see him do it. It also says this "may be construed as coaching" - crucial word being may not must! Nowhere does it say you penalise a player for their coach's gesturing etc during a match. Coaching during warm-up or match is not listed as 1 of the 5 things a player is responsible for their coach doing. So it is wrong to penalise Serena for something she did not do or...

Just as I thought that controversies were over at the US Open and we can focus on the game we have the greatest controversy of all. The women’s final was not just controversial it was unfair. Inbuilt into the philosophy of sport is fairness.  For video clips and a timeline of the controversial events during the women’s final, see:   https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2018/09/08/serena-williams-vs-naomi-osaka-us-open-2018-final-live-score/ First code violation – warning for coaching: Serena is 1-0 up in the second set against Osaka when she is given a coaching violation by the umpire, Carlos Ramos. Serena defends herself, which she has every right to do since she is a sportswoman with integrity. Her reputation is now being called into question by giving her this warning through no fault of her own. Should Ramos have given Serena a warning for coaching? The warning is based on Mouratoglou’s hand signals while sitting in the stands. The rules are vague but do state...