Umpire Carlos Ramos will not umpire any matches involving Serena or Venus Williams at this year's US Open, tournament officials have confirmed. Officials said the decision is “good for the tournament, the players and the umpires”.
During last year's US Open final against Japan's Naomi Osaka, Serena was handed a code violation and docked a game after she smashed her racket and called Ramos, who was umpiring the match, a “thief” and a “liar”.
Ramos had claimed that Serena's coach Patrick Mouratoglou “coached” her during the game from the player's box. She denied the allegation, but was slapped with a game penalty at which point, she lost her cool and called Ramos a thief for “stealing” a point from her.
Serena also told Ramos that he would “never, ever, ever be on another of mine” as long as he lived.
The 23-time grand slam champion, who was set to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam titles, lost the final 6-2, 6-4 to Osaka.
“We have selected the best officials for the 2019 US Open, and there is some flexibility,” US Open referee Soeren Friemel said.
“It's not the first time that we made decisions that is good for the tournament, is good for the players, and is good for the umpires as well to not be on those matches.”
Tournament officials also said that the decision is not in response to any request from the Williams sisters.
The US Open, the final grand slam of the year, will begin on Monday.
