Serena Williams' US Open Tirade Asks Tennis a lot of Questions

As Serena Williams took to the court in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, there was huge sentiment to the occasion. Returning to the scene of six of her 23 grand slam victories, only a year and seven days after the birth of her first child, there was an expectation that number twenty-four was soon to follow.

The final didn't go as the American crowd had hoped. Williams passed up the chance of matching the all-time grand slam wins record, and in the process called the umpire 'a liar' and 'a thief'. Both during and after the match, she was quick to cite double standards in tennis, fuelled by sexism, exclaiming that no male player would have been treated in the same way. Serena's implosion was passionate and dramatic, but did she get it right?

When chair umpire Carlos Ramos perceived Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou's hand gestures as coaching from the stands, she received her first code violation after losing the first set to Japan's Naomi Osaka. In the second set, a clearly furious Williams smashed her racket in frustration when Osaka broke her serve in the fifth game, inducing another code violation and a point deduction.

At the changeover, an enraged Williams unleashed a tirade at Ramos, saying "I have never cheated in my life, I have a daughter and I stand for what's right for her. I've never cheated, and you owe me an apology.

"You will never be on another court of mine as long as you live. Say it. Say you're sorry. And you stole a point from me. You're a thief."

Her third violation for verbal abuse saw her receive a game penalty which effectively finished the tie.

Post-match, Patrick Mouratoglou himself admitted to making hand-gestures towards Williams, something that is well-known to be against the rules. Couple that with the obvious smashing of the racket and verbal abuse, it's pretty straightforward to see how the eventual game penalty materialised. Argument over.

However, take in the bigger picture. Serena was quick to suggest double standards in the game. "I've seen other men call other umpires several things..." she told the media, "He's never taken a game from a man because they said 'thief'. For me, it blows my mind. But I'm going to continue to fight for women."

Verbal abuse towards umpires has been a problem in tennis for years and Williams hasn't been completely innocent in the past. She has, on occasion, got away with it, just as the men that she quite rightly referred to have as well.

Yet, she categorically condemned umpire Ramos, citing sexism in the sport and the double standards set by him. By some, this was perceived as an excuse for her behaviour in the final.

The umpire has clashed with players of both genders before and is a notorious stickler for the rules. Rafa Nadal has had previous with Ramos in a similar vein to the events of this weekend, being penalised for slow play and accused of being coached from the stands. As did Serena's sister Venus, who also experienced it during a game at the French Open in 2016.

However, whether you think Williams was looking for excuses or not, what is clear is that events in the not-so-recent past have highlighted the problems that linger in the women's game.

Earlier in the tournament, Alize Cornet was hit with a code violation after taking her shirt off to switch it round after realising that she'd put it on back to front. The alteration took approximately 10 seconds. Compare this to the men's side of the tournament where none of the players were admonished as they sat top-less on court for minutes to cool down in the heat.

The timely event came only weeks after the President of the French Tennis Federation explained how Williams would not be allowed to wear her all-in-one catsuit at future tournaments - the suit was specifically designed to help combat blood clots caused by the emergency C-section for the birth of her child.

The ban was provoked not by claims of performance enhancing attributes, instead the French Tennis Federation asserted that "One must respect the game and the place," causing outrage throughout the tennis community, again bringing into question the position women hold in the game and the detrimental effect of prejudices against them.

Names across the world of tennis and beyond came out in swathes to support Serena after Saturday night. Most poignant were the words of Billie Jean King on twitter - "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."

Days earlier, the notoriously 'outspoken' Nick Kyrgios had an umpire come down from his chair to offer a pep talk, seemingly encouraging Kyrgios as he began to throw the game; he told him "that it's not a good look". The player discarded suggestions that the umpire was coaching him. Yet for those looking on and comparing it to the events of Saturday night, the contrast between the relationship of umpire and player is vast; evidence for many that double standards are rife in the game.

King continued, "Thank you, @serenawilliams, for calling out this double standard. More voices are needed to do the same." As a pioneer for women's tennis herself, Billie Jean King thinks plenty more need to come out in support to join Serena in exposing the contradictions within the game.

Serena Williams is a role-model to millions and one of sports greatest competitors. On Saturday night, she lost her cool and is quite rightly penalised after multiple violations by an umpire who has imposed the same punishments upon players of both genders in the past. Take it at face value and it's not unfair to say that Williams got it wrong. Let us not forget that a 20-year-old won her and Japan's maiden grand-slam title with an unflappable display of maturity and skill which should not be overlooked.

However, when you see the evidence of even just this tournament, women continue to fight against the double standards that persist in a sport that has historically and continually makes women fight to reach parity with their male counterparts. Serena will continue to galvanise women across the world with her actions, she will inspire with her game and fight with her heart for what she believes is right; and for that you cannot help but admire her.