Roger Federer breaks silence on Serena Williams sexism saga
Tennis superstar Roger Federer has opened up about the Serena Williams US Open sexism debacle, saying the game could use the incident as a catalyst for change.
Williams caused worldwide controversy after claiming umpire Carlos Ramos displayed sexist behaviour and racism during her US Open final loss to Naomi Osaka.
Tennis stars and the sporting community were divided by her comments, as some agreed that Williams anger was justified, while others believed that it was poor sportsmanship.
Federer, who has had his own fair share of conflicts with umpire Fergus Murphy dating back to 2009, remained neutral when stating his views on the scandal.
“It’s interesting but I think it’s important to look at it,” Federer told KVUE.
“Every umpire has their own style, it’s just how it is in any sport.
“In tennis, you might have an umpire that gives more coaching violations and another guy goes more to time violation.
“You might get one guy who knows that this guy misbehaves quite often so I’ll give him a warning quicker or I’ll be more lenient with a guy because he’s a nice guy and just can’t control himself. I think it really depends on the situation.”
While the champion tennis player believes that mistakes occurred on the court, the 20-time grand slam champion hoped that sexism had nothing to do with it.
“I hope it’s not the case (that there is gender bias) but I think what happened, obviously there were mistakes along the way and there should be more discretion sometimes.
“At the same time, they have to do their job, that’s what we want them to do.
“It’s been tricky but a really interesting case to study."
A report from the New York Times revealed that male tennis players are three times more likely to be punished or fined for racquet abuse.
Male players were fined 1517 times compared to women who were fined 535 times, according to data compiled by officials at Grand Slam tournaments for the period covering 1998 to 2018.
However, Williams who spoke on The Project for the first time since the incident, refused to back down with her argument.
“I just don’t understand … if you’re a female you should be able to do even half of what a guy can do,” she told The Project.
“I feel it’s really important to stand up for what you believe in.
“Especially if it can affect the future and affect a lot of people in the future. That’s what it’s all about.
“Really it’s just about having a great team and rolling up your sleeves and hard work.
“I work really, really hard at my game. And then I work super hard at my fashion business. And I’m working incredibly hard at being a mom.”
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