Before Saturday’s US Open women’s final match, it looked like the tournament’s biggest meltdown would belong to Ozzie Nick Kyrgios.

You might remember that during his second round match, Kyrgios stopped trying to return his opponent’s serve, received coaching from the umpire and heckled the crowd – a triple whammy that was going to take some beating.

Thankfully, Roger Federer ousted Kyrgios in the next round (including this outrageous around the net shot), and the tournament could carry on without his histrionics.

Enter Serena Williams, 20-year-old Naomi Osaka, and umpire Carlos Ramos, who combined to create one of the most memorable Grand Slam finals in recent times.

You’ll find hundreds of hot takes online, so let’s just start with the basics. Serena first received a code violation for coaching from Patrick Mouratoglou, which is not allowed during the match:

Serena gets illegal coaching warning vs Osaka ! pic.twitter.com/SJICEvpHhe

— Alexandru Stan (@invatafreestyle) September 8, 2018

Here’s the thing – after the match, Mouratoglou admitted that he was coaching, but said that he has been doing something similar for years, and never had his player called out for it:

Coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, admits he was coaching #Serena. The umpire inserted himself and should’ve made it clear that it was Serena’s box and NOT her, but he was following the rules.

From there Serena made it worse and has to take responsibility for that. #USOpen #Tennis pic.twitter.com/6l8HjnsfVl

— A Football Friend (@AFootballFriend) September 8, 2018

Via the BBC, Serena denied coaching:

In her post-match news conference Williams said she was she “was not being coached” and that she “did not understand” why Mouratoglou would say he was doing so.

“I just texted Patrick, like, ‘what is he talking about?’ Because we don’t have signals,” she said.

“We have never discussed signals. I don’t even call for on-court coaching [which is allowed on certain occasions in WTA events].

“I’m trying to figure out why he would say that. I don’t understand. I want to clarify myself what he’s talking about.”

Then came the second violation, where Serena smashed her racquet in frustration and was docked a point.

sonofthebronx: Serena Williams slams down her racket ESPN U.S. Open Tennis: Women’s Championship https://t.co/bWabazCyBn pic.twitter.com/RpvnKd5Syx

— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) September 8, 2018

The tension between Serena and the umpire continued to simmer, and it was the third violation, where Ramos accused Serena of verbal abuse, that really saw things get nasty.

From the 20-second mark, you can hear the word ‘thief’ used:

That ended with Serena being docked a game, and it wasn’t long before Osaka had wrapped up the title.

Quite an achievement for somebody who idolised Serena growing up, and even did a project on her hero in junior school:

During her almost 10-minute interview after the match, Serena stuck to her guns:

She has been fined $17 000 (around R257 000) by the United States Tennis Association.

Oh, about the hot takes.

It seems there is no middle ground on this one – take the Washington Post, for example:

Chair umpire Carlos Ramos managed to rob not one but two players in the women’s U.S. Open final. Nobody has ever seen anything like it: An umpire so wrecked a big occasion that both players, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams alike, wound up distraught with tears streaming down their faces during the trophy presentation and an incensed crowd screamed boos at the court. Ramos took what began as a minor infraction and turned it into one of the nastiest and most emotional controversies in the history of tennis, all because he couldn’t take a woman speaking sharply to him.

Williams abused her racket, but Ramos did something far uglier: He abused his authority…

Perhaps the most important job of all for an umpire is to respect the ephemeral nature of the competitors and the contest. Osaka can never, ever recover this moment. It’s gone. Williams can never, ever recover this night. It’s gone. And so Williams was entirely right in calling him a “thief.”

And then the polar opposite on the Telegraph, where former British tennis pro Greg Rusedski weighed in:

The cries of “sexism” surrounding the Serena Williams story are a red herring. This is about personalities, not about gender.

The vast majority of players know when to stop arguing with an umpire. But a couple of high-profile names have had trouble in this area: Williams on three different occasions at the US Open, and John McEnroe on a far more regular basis.

The Daily Beast with tennis legend Billie Jean King’s reaction:

“When a woman is emotional, she’s ‘hysterical’ and she’s penalized for it. When a man does the same, he’s ‘outspoken’ & and there are no repercussions,” King tweeted late Saturday. The world’s former No. 1 tennis player thanked Williams for “calling out this double standard” and said that “more voices are needed to do the same.”

Could the umpire have thought things over before deciding to dock Williams a game for that third infraction, or either of the two that came before? Yes, surely.

Could Serena have handled things better? Yes, surely.

Will the woman commonly referred to as the greatest tennis player of all time bounce back from this hungrier than ever? Unfortunately for those who will come up against her, you bet.

[sources:bbc&washpost&telegraph&dailybeast]