US Open Umpire Makes First Public Statement

 

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Umpire Carlos Ramos has made his first public statement since his disputed calls at the U.S. Open final Saturday. American Serena Williams and Japan’s Naomi Osaka were competing in the championship.

“I am good, under the circumstances,” Ramos told Portugal’s Tribuna Expresso. He called it “an unhappy situation” and said he followed the rules of tennis.

“Don’t you worry about me!” he added.

Ramos told the newspaper that he stayed off the streets of New York after the match to avoid any “complicated situations.” He will be back to work as umpire on Friday in Zadar, Croatia.

Ramos called three rules violations¹ against Williams during the event. The decision caused a heated on-court dispute between him and Williams. It later started a larger debate about sexism in tennis.

Ramos was unable to defend himself over the weekend as the rules prevent umpires from commenting on the matches they oversee².

The International Tennis Federation³ (ITF) is the governing organization for international tennis.

It defended Ramos in a statement on Monday: “Carlos Ramos is one of the most experienced and respected umpires in tennis. Mr. Ramos’ decisions were in accordance with the relevant rules….” It added that US Open organizers confirmed Ramos’ decisions when they decided⁴ to fine Williams for the three offenses⁵.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), however, supported Williams’ accusations⁶ that Ramos’ actions were based in sexism.

Billie Jean King is a former world number one player who founded the WTA. She said on Tuesday both sides shared the blame for the incident.

She described Williams’ behavior on court as “out of line.” She added that Ramos could have prevented the incident with clear communication.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

umpire - n. a person who controls play and makes sure that players act according to the rules in a sports event like tennis

circumstance - n. a condition or fact that affects a situation

complicated - adj. hard to understand, explain, or deal with

match - n. a contest between two players

accordance - n. in a way that follows (something such as a rule)

relevant - adj. relating to a subject in an appropriate way

1 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

2 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。