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Serena Williams lifts lid on US Open final outburst

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Williams slated the umpire on court (Picture: Getty Images)

Serena Williams has opened up on her outburst at the US Open final, where she labelled umpire Carlos Ramos a sexist and a thief.

The American was handed a code violation for coaching – something her coach Patrick Mouratoglou admitted to after the match – before receiving two more violations from Ramos: one for smashing her racquet, the next for verbal abuse as she attacked the chair umpires character in front of millions of viewers around the world.

She was fined £13,000 for her actions but in an interview with GQ she explained her inital reaction to the coaching violation was fuelled by her belief she deserved a quiet word in the ear from Ramos – known as a soft warning – rather than a formal warning.

That was where a lot of people dont understand, she told the magazine. Thats where I was coming from.

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 08: Patrick Mouratoglou looks on during the Women's Singles finals match between Serena Williams of the United States and Naomi Osaka of Japan on Day Thirteen of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 8, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) — Mouratoglou was caught coaching (Picture: Getty)

Like, usually you talk to me, tell me that somethings happening, and Ill tell my box, like, whatever youre doing, dont. First, I cant see you – Im clear on the other side of the court. Second, dont do it. Were here to win or to lose with dignity, and thats how Ive always done my career.

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Williams – who has not played competitive tennis since the incident – did not back down over her claims that sexism was at play, adding: Im a black woman… my limit [of whats acceptable in society] is way lower.

And thats where we stand right now in this world. And its a fact. Its literally a fact… You dont accept it. You talk about it like I have. You make it better for the next generation.

Previous incidents at her home Grand Slam, including the 2011 US Open final against Sam Stosur, clearly played on her mind and she believes this latest conflict served as a trigger moment.

Ive had a lot of things happen to me at the U.S. Open, she said. I think about three or four different things. Especially in the later rounds.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 8, 2018 Serena Williams of the US argues with chair umpire Carlos Ramos while playing Naomi Osaka of Japan during their 2018 US Open women's singles final match in New York. - Serena Williams has been fined $17,000 by the US Tennis Association in the wake her outburst during a controversial US Open final loss to Japan's Naomi Osaka. The American star was fined for coaching, racquet abuse and for verbal abuse when she accused umpire Carlos Ramos of being "a thief" during Saturday's stormy final.Williams was incensed at the coaching violation, although coach Patrick Mouratoglou, sitting in her box, admitted that he was coaching when he moved his hands. (Photo by Eduardo MUNOZ ALVAREZ / AFP)EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images — Williams lost her cool (Picture: AFP/Getty)

I think a person can be a little bit more sensitive to anything in that moment. You know, it becomes a trigger moment. When you go through a really extreme ordeal not once, not twice, not three times, it becomes a trigger moment.

While the outburst was headline news across the globe, Williams has largely blanked it from her memory.

And shes unfazed by others opinions on how the incident went down.

I dont really remember how it went, to be honest, she added. Ive been purposely not thinking about it.

I dont watch TV at all. I try to keep myself in a bubble as much as I can. I just dont want to be involved in other peoples opinions. Let them live how they want to feel.

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