US Open: Carlos Ramos banned from officiating Williams sisters matches
What's the story
Tennis umpire Carlos Ramos has been banned from officiating matches involving Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, at the US Open 2019. The decision comes from the US Tennis Association president Stacey Allaster, following the events of last year's final, where Ramos had handed a game penalty to Serena over multiple code violations. Serena had consequently lost the match to Naomi Osaka. Here's more.
2018 story
Serena lost US Open 2018 final over multiple code violations
As Serena was up against Naomi Osaka in the final, she received a warning for on-court coaching from her coach. Later, she was penalized a point for breaking her racquet, to which Serena argued with Ramos. After losing the next game, she again confronted him and called him a thief, as she was penalized a game and she went on to lose the match.
Not first
Not the first time such decisions were made regarding umpires
While Allaster termed this as a collective decision, tournament referee Soren Friemel recalled that this is not the first time such decisions were made. He also stated that they look to assign the best umpire for the right matches. "So, in taking all those factors into consideration, the decision was made that he would not do any of the Williams sisters' matches," said Friemel.
Quote
Ramos to officiate in other high-profile matches at US Open
"Carlos has worked all the other Grand Slams. He has done Davis Cup, Fed Cup, he's going to the Davis Cup finals. He's considered still for all high-profile matches," added Friemel, on being asked of Ramos was completely banned from the tournament, reports AFP.
Osaka's response
Osaka would not mind having Ramos in her matches
Following Ramos's development, Osaka was asked if she would like to have Ramos in one of her matches. She calmly said that she would never say that she did not like an umpire and she does not mind either. "I'll never be specific if I don't want someone to umpire my match. I just go with whoever is doing it," she said.
Do you know?
Serena takes on Sharapova in opener, Osaka faces Blinkova
As of now, both Serena and Osaka would begin their US Open proceedings from Monday. Serena seeded eight, would begin her quest in a tough contest against former champion Maria Sharapova. Meanwhile, No.1 seed Osaka would face off against unseeded Anna Blinkova of Russia.