Serena Williams and code violations: All you need to know about the US Open final controversy

It was a historic, emotional moment for Naomi Osaka as she became Japan’s first Grand Slam champion when she beat childhood idol Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday.

This was Naomi’s second win over Serena after she defeated the American 6-3, 6-2 in their first meeting in Miami earlier this year. With the triumph in New York, the Japanese also clinched her second career title after winning her first in Indian Wells in March.

But Naomi’s accomplishment on Sunday was overshadowed by Serena’s angry outburst at the chair umpire, Carlos Ramos, that has been called by the New York Daily Post as ‘The Mother of All Meltdowns’. The former world No 1 was handed multiple code violations that all started with her coach making hand gestures from her box.

In case you missed any of it, here’s what happened during a dramatic, controversial US Open women’s singles final:

Code violation #1

Serena was assessed a code violation on the fifth point in the second game of the second set as, according to the US Open official statement, “the chair umpire witnessed coaching taking place from Williams’ coach.”

Serena vehemently denied the charge. “I don’t cheat to win,” she’d said. “I’d rather lose.”

Code violation #2

As Naomi broke Serena to make the score 2-3 in the second set – with the aid of two double faults and a backhand error – the American smashed her racquet to the court. This act got Serena a second code violation and a point penalty to start the next game.

Serena was infuriated after the second code violation. She tearfully accused umpire Ramos of being a “thief” and demanded an apology from him.

“You’re attacking my character,” she fumed. “You will never, ever be on another court of mine. You are the liar.”

“I didn’t get coaching. I haven’t cheated in my life. I stand for what’s right,” she insisted as the match headed into the sixth game.

Code violation #3

After Osaka broke for a 4-3 lead Williams continued her verbal charge on Ramos, who docked her a game for a third violation that put Osaka up 5-3. (As per the rulebook, a third code violation warning results in a game being docked)

The aftermath

Coach Patrick Mouratoglou admitted in an interview with ESPN that he was trying to advise her with a hand gesture, although Williams was apparently oblivious.

“The star of the show has been once again the chair umpire,” he tweeted after the match.

“Should they be allowed have an influence on the result of a match? When do we decide that this should never happen again?”

Serena, after the match, admitted that she didn’t know if she would have managed to turn things around if the dispute with the umpire had not occurred.

“It’s hard to say because I always fight till the end and I always try to come back, no matter what,” she said.

“He [the referee] alleged that I was cheating, and I wasn’t cheating,” Williams told reporters later.

“I don’t use on-court coaching (where it’s allowed at WTA tour events).

“One thing I love about tennis is being out there. It’s the one time I don’t want to hear anyone tell me anything. You have to figure out. You have to problem-solve.”

The official US Open statement read: “The chair umpire’s decision was final and not reviewable by the Tournament Referee or the Grand Slam Supervisor who were called to the court at that time.”

Interestingly, when Serena was told about her coach’s comments on ESPN, she said she had no idea why he would say something like that and that she had texted him about it.

Additional reading: Reactions to the controversy from former players and fans.

With inputs from AFP