Tennis umpires are reportedly considering a boycott of Serena Williams' matches unless she apologizes for calling Carlos Ramos a 'liar' and a 'thief'

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September 12, 2018 4:02 PM

The fallout from the 2018 US Open final continues as umpires are now reportedly considering boycott action by refusing assignments that put them in the chair for future Serena Williams tennis matches. The umpires would end the boycott when Williams apologizes for her calling an umpire a 'liar.'

Umpires are reportedly considering a boycott of Serena Williams' future tennis matches, according to an anonymous source in The Times.

The plan under consideration to refuse the chair when Williams competes is seemingly a direct response to the treatment Carlos Ramos received for slapping Williams with three code violations during the American's 2-6, 4-6 US Open final loss to Naomi Osaka on September 8.

The first violation was for coaching, which Williams argued against. "I don't cheat to win. I'd rather lose," she said. Williams was later given a violation for smashing her racket, costing her a point. Her third violation, for calling the umpire Carlos Ramos a "thief," cost her a game.

At the press conference after the match, Williams said that the umpire's sanctions were an act of sexism, according to CNN. "I'm here fighting for women's rights and for women's equality. … For me to say 'thief' and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark."

She added: "He's never taken a game from a man because they said 'thief.' For me, it blows my mind. But I'm going to continue to fight for women."

Williams' accusation of sexism has been backed by the Women's Tennis Association and the United States Tennis Association. This has seemingly upset a core group of umpires, according to The Times.

The anonymous source believes they have not been supported by the USTA on multiple occasions, saying that Ramos was "thrown to the wolves for simply doing his job and was not willing to be abused for it."

According to the source, umpires are reportedly discussing the option of refusing match assignments that involve Williams until she apologizes to Ramos for calling him a "liar" and "thief."

Ramos has received support from the International Tennis Federation. He acted "at all times with professionalism and integrity" during Saturday's showdown, the ITF said in a statement on BBC. "Ramos undertook his duties as an official according to the relevant rule book," it added.

Williams was fined $17,000, which was deducted from her prize money of $1.85 million as the tournament's runner-up. Ramos, meanwhile, was paid £370 ($480) as a "standard daily rate" for umpiring, The Times reported.

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