Under fire umpire Carlos Ramos acted at all times with integrity, says ITF following Serena Williams sexism row
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Under fire umpire Carlos Ramos acted at all times with integrity, says ITF following Serena Williams sexism rowSaveComment speech bubble icon Gift this article free Gift article Give full
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Simon BriggsTennis Correspondent, in New York10 September 2018 9:14pm BST Related TopicsWTA,US Open (Tennis),Serena Williams10 September 2018 9:14pm BSTSaveComment speech bubble icon Gift
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Carlos Ramos was caught in the eye of the storm in New York on Saturday night Credit: Getty Images Simon BriggsTennis Correspondent, in New York10 September 2018 9:14pm BST As the sport
continued to tear itself apart over the Serena Williams sexism row, the International Tennis Federation stepped in on Monday night to defend beleaguered umpire Carlos Ramos.
In the absence of any representative body to speak for tennis officials, it fell to the ITF to say what should be evident to all: despite Williams’s repeated insistence that Ramos owes her
an apology, he was just doing his job when he penalised her a point and a game during Saturday’s tumultuous women’s US Open final.
“Carlos Ramos is one of the most experienced and respected umpires in tennis,” said the ITF, which is Ramos’s employer. “[His] decisions were in accordance with the relevant rules and were
re-affirmed by the US Open’s decision to fine Serena Williams for the three offences.
“It is understandable this high-profile and regrettable incident should provoke debate. At the same time, it is important to remember Mr Ramos undertook his duties as an official according
to the relevant rule book and acted at all times with professionalism and integrity.”
The statement might not have been necessary were it not for the further accusations of sexism that were levelled at Ramos on Sunday by two of tennis’ major stakeholders. First Katrina Adams,
the head of the United States Tennis Association, told ESPN: “We watch the guys do this all the time, they’re badgering the umpire on the changeovers. Nothing happens. There’s no equality.
There has to be some consistency across the board. These are conversations that will be imposed in the next weeks.”
Serena Williams umpire row | Everything we know about US Open 2018 final Then, Steve Simon, the head of the Women’s Tennis Association, put out a statement with a similar theme. “The WTA
believes there should be no difference in the standards of tolerance provided to the emotions expressed by men v women and is committed to working with the sport to ensure all players are
treated the same. We do not believe this was done last night.”
The strong impression was of two organisations who benefit from Williams’s star power bending over backwards to appease her, at the expense of the less celebrated Ramos.
Serena Williams' US Open 2018 final umpire row This was a dangerous message to send out to other umpires: take on a big name and we will disown you. The sexism narrative also failed to
reflect the statistics from the US Open, which showed 86 code violations were handed out to male players in the course of the fortnight, but only 22 to women.
Ramos is arguably the strictest umpire on the circuit. During his 30-year career, he has had previous run-ins with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, among others. Until last
weekend, though, his even-handedness had never been impugned.
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The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Related TopicsWTA,US Open (Tennis),Serena
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