Twitter Divided as US Open Fines Serena Williams: Fair or Sexist?

Tennis fans on Twitter came out in equal support for both Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams during the trophy ceremony at the end of women’s final of the US Open.

(Photo: AP)

Naomi Osaka became Japan’s first ever Grand Slam singles champion after she beat Serena Williams 6-2 6-4 in a highly volatile US Open final on 8 September. But her victory was marred by Williams getting into a heated of argument with the chair umpire, after she was handed a flurry of code violations.

Chair Umpire Carlos Ramos first warned Serena of on-court coaching which was followed by a string of bad behavior from Williams as she incurred a point penalty for smashing her racket before being slapped with a game penalty after she verbally attacked Ramos, calling him “a liar” and “a thief”.

Later in the day, Serena Williams was fined a total of $17,000 for three code violations during the controversial final.

Here’s a look at how Twitter reacted to the controversial match and the fine.

‘Sexist Decision’, Choruses Twitter

Soon after the match, Twitter raged against umpire Ramos, alleging that the decision to hand violations and fine was a sexist. Some were of the opinion that Serena deserved an apology, not a fine.

‘No Player Above Game Rules’

However, a section of Twitter also hit out at the legendary player for violating the rules of the game. They also questioned how she turned the violations into a “sexism row.”

Smile Osaka, Says Twitter

Tennis fans on Twitter also congratulated Osaka, but pointed that her historic win was marred by the controversy.