Serena Williams Row: Tennis Umpires Push to Form a Union

Tennis umpires are pushing to unionize after Carlos Ramos—the official who sanctioned Serena Williams over the weekend—was “hung out to dry” by the International Tennis Federation in the furor that followed the U.S. Open final. “There is a lot of unhappiness in the umpiring community because no one is standing up for officials,” an anonymous senior umpire told The Guardian. “Umpires keep asking: ‘What if it was me in that chair on Saturday?’ There is a widespread feeling that Carlos was hung out to dry for nearly 48 hours and that no one is standing up for officials.” Several umpires are privately pushing for an officials’ union as a matter of urgency, the newspaper reports. Ramos has made a public statement, his first since his call, saying he was “good, under the circumstances” despite the anger being directed at him. “It’s an unhappy situation but à la carte refereeing doesn’t exist,” the 47-year-old told a Portuguese newspaper. “Don’t you worry about me!”