Serena Williams Loses US Open After Fight Over 'Sexist' Penalties

From Harper's BAZAAR

Serena Williams is making headlines today after losing the US Open to Naomi Osaka, following an argument with the umpire, and having received three separate code violations throughout the match.

Prior to losing the US Open, Williams was engaged in an argument with chair umpire Carlos Ramos, who firstly gave the tennis player a violation for, as People reports, "illegal coaching from her player box during the first set." However, Williams would not accept this violation and told the umpire, "I don’t cheat to win, I’d rather lose. I’m just letting you know."

And that's not all. Williams received a second penalty for slamming her racket on to the court, and a third for apparently verbally abusing the umpire, having called him a "thief." Williams told the umpire, "You owe me an apology," and claimed, "You will never, ever, ever be on another court of mine as long as you live. You are the liar."

20-year-old Osaka was understandably shaken by the events of the match, and revealed in an interview that, "as a fan," she had been concerned about Williams. Ultimately, Williams stood up for Osaka, telling the crowd to stop booing and to celebrate the young player's win.

After the match, Serena Williams took a stand for women's rights in tennis, pointing out that a man wouldn't have been penalized in the same way that she was. She revealed, "I'm here fighting for women's rights and women's equality. And for me to say 'thief' and for him to take a game, made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He's never taken a game from a man, because he said thief. For me, it blew my mind."

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