The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) late Sunday
voiced its support for Serena Williams, who accused the umpire of
sexism in the US Open final.
"The WTA believe that there should be no difference in the standards
of tolerance provided to the emotions expressed by men vs women and
is committed to working with the sport to ensure that all players are
treated the same," chief executive Steve Simon said in a statement.
"We do not believe that this was done last night."
During her loss to Naomi Osaka of Japan on Saturday, Williams got a
coaching violation, was then penalized a point for racquet abuse and
then a game for verbally abusing umpire Carlos Ramos and calling him
a "thief."
She was also later fined a total 17,000 dollars for the violations.
In a post-match press conference she defended her outburst, arguing
there was a double standard between the way women are treated when
they complain compared to the way men are treated.
Simon also said the issue of coaching needed to be addressed "and
should be allowed across the sport."
Williams had been incensed by the violation for coaching, which she
was handed after Ramos spotted her coach Patrick Mouratoglou making
hand signals to her.
Williams insisted she hadn't seen his signals and had never called
even for on-court coaching during matches when it was allowed. Rules
permit it at Women's Tennis Association tournaments, but not grand
slams.
Mouratoglou later admitted that he was coaching but said Osaka's
coach had been coaching too.