When you’ve got 23 tennis Grand Slam titles under your belt and a net worth of millions of dollars, losing $17,000 of it may seem like chump change. That may be so, but in Serena Williams’s case, it’s not about the money at all.
Some hand motions from the stands during the U.S. Open Sept. 8 was all it took: Williams received a warning from umpire Carlos Ramos for illegal assistance from her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. To be fair, the mentor admitted that he was, in fact, attempting to coach his apprentice, but upholds the thought that Williams didn’t even realize Mouratoglou was doing so, and even suggested that most coaches attempt to guide their players during matches.
Williams was eventually charged $4,000 for a meager coaching warning, while her male counterparts who actually get caught receiving instruction get fined far less. For example, male Israeli player Dudi Sela was discovered communicating with his coach via cell phone in 2009, denied it despite video evidence and was only made to forfeit $1,500 because of it. This is just the first instance of unfair standards for women tennis players as compared to men, and only a component of this controversy.
What closely followed that warning included Williams’s misplaying of a point, a smashed racquet and yet another penalty in the form of the removal of a point for the mistreatment of said racquet. Williams then accused Ramos of being a “thief” for that deduction, and she was then docked an entire game for “verbal abuse.” While viewing this whole fiasco, one fact remains: Williams’s actions did not merit the penalties she received, plain and simple. In the 2017 French Open, Ramos was berated by Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who then received no repercussions other than a warning. Clearly, the standards for men and women are somewhat different.
At first glance, one may think that her punishment is just. However, when viewed in relation to similar incidents in professional tennis, the realization surfaces that players often go through bouts of frustration such as this and seldom face punishments of this rigor. For example, in 2012, Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprus demolished not one, not two or three, but four racquets. His fine? Only $1,250. In 2009, British player Andy Murray blew up at a line judge for a misunderstanding and was given no penalty at all. Tennis legend John McEnroe even chimed in, saying that he’s “said far worse” to umpires, and never got penalized as harshly as Williams, who ultimately was subject to the aforementioned $17,000 fine for the three separate violations.
Let’s also take a look back to the French Open, when French Tennis Association President Bernard Giudi barred Williams from wearing a specially-designed “catsuit” at the tournament. While citing its “standards”, one should keep in mind the fact that there has never been a dress code at the French Open, and that suit was made to prevent blood clots following Williams’s complicated pregnancy. There was no real issue with the outfit, save for it not being up to “standards”. The focus in any sport ought to be on the game, not the clothes the players are wearing.
Another instance of this can be noted with French player Alize Cornet, who was given a code violation for changing her shirt mid-match. Male players frequently do this, so why was Cornet penalized? Easy: because her sports bra was exposed for a few seconds.
The fact of the matter is, men in professional tennis are not held to the same standards as women are. Time and time again, men become heated on the court and receive either minimal or nonexistent repercussions. Williams, upon doing the same, though, was slapped with fines and was penalized. But, hey, she’s probably just “overreacting”.
