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New York - Barbora Strycova has rubbished Serena Williams’ claim that her treatment by the umpire in the recent US Open final was sexist, and said she only started complaining because she was losing.
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Williams lost her cool with the official in the final after being penalised for receiving coaching and smashing her racquet, calling Carlos Ramos a ‘thief’, an outburst that cost her a game penalty.
During the altercation and again after the match, Williams suggested that sexism was part of the reason why she was punished so severely, although Strycova told Czech website Sport.cz that she doesn’t agree.
“This is a bulls**t, for umpires being women or men doesn’t matter,” said the world No 25.
“In comparison, I never saw (Rafael) Nadal shouting like that with an umpire.
“I find it interesting that she did it only when she was losing.”
Strycova was also surprised that the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and United States Tennis Association (USTA) later came out in support of Williams.
“Me, as a woman, take a lot of warnings,” she said.
“WTA defence surprised me. Will the rules change in Serena’s matches?”
“Ramos is tough, one of the best umpires in the world,” Strycova added.
“He did what he had to do in that match, because she overcame the limit.
“Did he have to behave differently only because she was Serena Williams?"
