September 9th, 2018 early morning (2-3 am IST).
Venue: US Open Finals at New York City
Serena Williams (aged 36 years) is playing her finals match with Naomi Osaka (aged 20 years). This is Serena’s second finals appearance in a Grand Slam tournament, after giving birth to her baby in September 2017. Soak that in for a minute before you read on. Let me re-write, to help you understand the meaning of this. She gave birth to a baby in September 2017, and in just about a year has managed to reach the Finals of Grand Slam event, twice. Grand Slam event. Finals. Back at the top of her game.
Naomi Osaka is just 20 years old and that night went on to become the first player from Japan (male or female) to win a grand slam. She couldn’t enjoy the victory. She was crying, the crowd boo-ed her, or not directly her but boo-ed the officials of the ceremony. Her first Grand Slam title turned out to be one of the most controversial finals of grand slam history.
Serena is down one set. She gets a warning from the chair umpire for what he assumed was coaching from her coaches. Players are not allowed to get coaching while the match is on. She denies it, has an argument, gets upset, throws her racquet on the ground, she gets a point penalty. She gets infuriated. Calls the chair umpire thief, “you stole my point”. He punishes her with a game penalty. With only one game to go for Osaka to win, the match was lost for Serena. What followed was another outburst from Serena. The referee is called in and Serena says, “You are doing this to me because I am a woman.”
September 9th-September 11th, 2018
New Delhi, India
Sitting in my little nook, thousands of miles away, I am reading and watching the videos of what transpired. Opinions of experts- who is to be blamed- Carlos Ramos, the umpire, who is considered one of the best umpires in the world, who is known to follow the rule book, who has in the past nudged players like Nadal the wrong way or Serena? She should have kept her calm and moved on, is what they are saying. Billie Jean King, one of the greatest tennis female players, in whose name the US Open court is where the Serena-Ramos incident happened, tweeted saying Thank You Serena for calling out the double standards, more voices are needed to do the same. She also wrote this for the Washington Post The ceiling that women of color face on their path to leadership never felt more impenetrable than it did at the women’s U.S. Open final on Saturday.
Martina Navratilova, another great player of the game says that Serena is wrong in saying that if a man can get away with that behaviour, then a woman should be allowed to get away too. She acknowledges the presence of bias that’s at play in every field, not only tennis, but emphasises that one should be more respectful towards the game and the rules.
Carlos Ramos was following the rule book, he wasn’t wrong in doing what he did.
But this outburst cannot be taken in isolation. There’s history of Serena being discriminated against by being checked for drugs a lot more than her white colleagues. She grew up proving her skills among the white folks, who raised eye brows at her prowess. This black-American who managed to reach every record book, has time and again raised her voice against pay-inequality in tennis. So, when someone like her accuses the officials of a prestigious grand slam of being sexist, it makes you stand up and agree.
I keep reading tweets after tweets, one article after another, and wonder why am I getting so disturbed by this incident? I never even liked Serena!
As I decipher the under-currents of this incident on my thinking, it dawns on me that its not only about a powerful woman raising her voice against workplace bias but its also about standing for your self-respect and dignity in front of the whole world. The trigger was the accusation of the umpire that Serena violated the rules of the game by getting signals from her coach during the match. That’s what she denied. That’s what she didn’t accept. “I don’t cheat, I play fair. I have never cheated in my life. I would rather lose the match than win by cheating.” This is what upset her the most.
Any hard-working, honest, committed person would understand the magnitude of this accusation. We hate being called cheaters, because we are not. We play fair, work hard, we sweat, we get up after a delivery to follow our passions, we push our bodies to achieve the impossible, we beat all odds to prove our mettle and then when suddenly someone casually remarks that you achieved this because you have contacts, you reached this level because you chose not to look after your home, you are winning, because you are cheating, we know what we feel.
I can relate to Serena. I can feel her blood pumping fast, I can feel her getting all hot with indignation, I can feel her heart beat sinking, I can feel her eyes flaring up, I can feel her furious desire to stand up and shout. The difference being, I have curbed this need to hit back and highlight the wrong-doing by keeping quiet. I have doused the internal fire by thinking let’s not do this as it may severe relationships, tarnish my reputation, or lead to unnecessary confrontation. That’s what the wise men are suggesting Serena should have done.
French tennis player, Alize Cornet was given a code violation by US Open officials when she chose to reverse her sweaty t-shirt on the court. This happened in the first week. Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) called this un-fair since men change their shirts all the time on the court and they are not penalised. Alize didn’t shout the way Serena did. Alize said a couple of lines during the post-match conference.
I wonder if Alize had reacted the way Serena did, created a scene, called the officials sexist, would we have seen a milder Ramos?
Sometimes, we do need someone to raise the voice. To point out the unfair nature of their actions. Not to get away from our wrong-doings, but just to be treated fairly. As Serena said in her post match conference that by raising her voice, she is standing up for women around the world. I may not have got what I wanted today, but tomorrow when the same injustice happens to another woman, she may get heard, she said.
Its not rocket science. The men of our house treat women the way they have seen their mothers and aunts being treated. Households that have had strong women, who have had a “seat on the table” have churned out not only successful and strong women in the society, but even given gentlemen to the world. It all started with one woman of the family, the one who laid down the rules. One who chose to speak. One who knew the importance of protecting her dignity and self-respect, so that others don’t feel guilty while protecting theirs.
That’s what sports idol do. They inspire. They act for the future, not just their future, but the future generations.
Ever since Serena gave birth to her baby, she had been talking openly about her difficult delivery experience, about the challenges of motherhood, about the guilt of working mothers. She has been inspiring mothers across the world by sharing her own story, encouraging others to talk about them. Just a look at her Instagram posts and comments, and as a mother you feel “I am not alone’. If she can do it, they can do it, so can I.
Women tennis, in fact women sports do not have such strong idols like Serena. For all the forces she is fighting against, who are waiting for their chances to shun her down, stopping her rants, calling her a crying baby, there is a considerable chunk of future generation, she is inspiring with her actions. May force be with you, Serena.
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