At the US Open, Serena Williams stood up for herself and for every woman and girl, including her infant daughter. What was to be a tennis match with global coverage on tennis ended up being politicized and deflated by every major news outlet. The 2018 US Open final between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
The 2018 US Open will most certainly not be remembered for the tennis matches. This was going to be a historical match regardless of the outcome because Osaka was hoping to be the first Japanese player in history to win a Grand Slam and Williams was hoping to tie for most Grand Slam singles tournament wins. However, umpire Carlos Ramos made calls that were the catalyst for Serena to stand up for herself. This took attention away from the tennis and quickly descended the US Open to chaos.
Carlos Ramos charged Williams with three code violations, which ultimately led to Williams being down 5-3 and then 4-3. Williams told Ramos that he "owed her an apology" but the damage was done. Williams was denied her chance to mount a comeback at the US Open and competitor Osaka was not given the chance to defeat her idol Serena Williams on her own terms. It's hard to pay attention to Osaka's historic win when there is an umpire too busy discrediting Williams. People around the world said Williams had made a spectacle when she defended herself. She was unfairly targeted by a man and if it were a man, Ramos would have given a warning.
Williams's legacy in tennis did not come easy, having to deal with sexism and double standards in the sport. Even after all of the wins, she is still treated in the wrong manner. However, Serena Williams stood up for herself when the world was her stage. "You stole a point from me," Williams told Ramos forcefully, not even yelling. It is hard to stay composed when there is so much at stake. Serena Williams was assertive and she did what she had to do for every woman. Williams was fined $17,000 after the game but she won the hearts of people around the world.
Male and female prize money for the grand slams still is not equal. However, we are getting there slowly. Williams ended her post-game press conference by saying, "I'm going to continue to fight for women. The fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person that has emotions and that want to express themselves and they want to be a strong woman, and they are going to be allowed to do that because of today. Maybe it didn't work out for me, but it's going to work out for the next person." We are so lucky to have Serena Williams who stands up for women.
