Serena Williams is regarded by many as the greatest tennis player of all time. With her record of dominance and 23 grand slam titles, she has inspired a slew of players and has forged a great legacy the likes of which we may never see in the sport ever again.
However, her outburst in the 2018 US Open final loss to Naomi Osaka did not go down as her finest hour on court. Williams was bidding to win her 24th major when she faced the and up-and-coming Japanese star, who was contesting her first grand slam final at just 20 years old.
Osaka produced a blistering performance and became the first player from Japan to win a major. Although she defeated the sporting icon 6-2, 6-4, Williams led many of the headlines as she smashed her racket and called the umpire a 'thief' as her frustrations boiled over.
Williams was initially given a code violation for ‘coaching’ from the box, which was the initial cause of her anger. She fumed at under-fire umpire Carlos Ramos: "It was not coaching. I do not cheat to win. I would rather lose. I just want you to know that.” Williams’ frustration increased after Ramos gave her a point penalty for smashing a racket.
"I have never cheated in my life. You owe me an apology!,” the American yelled. "I have a daughter and I have not cheated in my life.” The Arthur Ashe crowd, heavily in favour of Williams, began to boo the umpire. Williams asked them to quieten down before she had another go at Ramos.
“You will never be on another court of mine as long as you live," Williams added in another tirade. "You are attacking my character and you owe me an apology. You are a liar. You will never umpire on a court of mine as long as you live. Give me my apology. You stole a point from me and you’re a thief too.” Further punishments were handed out as Williams was handed a code violation and docked a game. Osaka showed great mental strength to stay focused on her performance while her opponent unravelled on the other side of the net.
Post match the youngster burst into tears as jeers rained down from the crowd. Serena, also sobbing, put a hand around her opponent’s shoulder before calling on the crowd to quieten. Afterwards Williams said: "I felt bad because I’m crying and she’s crying and she’s just won - I’m not sure if they were happy tears or if they were sad tears because of the moment.
“I felt like this isn’t how I felt when I won my first grand slam, I was like I definitely don’t think I want her to feel like that. Maybe it was the mom in me feeling we have to pull ourselves together.” Serena has reached two more slam finals since then, losing to Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu in the 2019 Wimbledon and US Open finals respectively. She will bid to win one more in her final US Open campaign this year.
The 2018 victory was the first of four majors for Osaka, as she won in Flushing Meadows again two years later and captured the 2019 and 2021 Australian Open titles.
