Medvedev got away with outburst because he's white, claims Serena husband

The husband of tennis great Serena Williams has suggested only 'white guys' like Daniil Medvedev can evade punishment for yelling at umpires Read Full Article at RT.com

Jan 30, 2022 - 10:05
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Medvedev got away with outburst because he's white, claims Serena husband

Alexis Ohanian suggested that only 'white guys' can get away with yelling at tennis umpires

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, has taken to Twitter to criticize perceived double standards in tennis and the media after Daniil Medvedev's latest on-court tirade - for which the Russian was fined $12,000.

Medvedev suffered a meltdown during his Australian Open semifinal clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas as he believed the Greek was receiving illegal coaching from his father Apostolos later caught barking orders from the player's box by a hidden official.

"Are you mad? Can his father talk every point? Are you stupid? Oh my God, you are so bad," Medvedev raged at umpire Jaume Campistol. "How can you be so bad in the semi-final of a grand slam? Look at me! I’m talking to you!"

Separately, after Tsitsipas tied the score at a set each, Medvedev told Campistol that he would be a "small cat" for not doing giving Tsitsipas a code violation for coaching. And while this amused most of the tennis world and the Twitter masses, Ohanian posted his thoughts about it on the social media platform.

Sharing a video of the world number two's outburst he wrote: "A penalty... media outrage... satirical cartoons... those are all coming, right?"

"No, of course they're not. (I have no problem with players yelling at umpires – but let them all do it – not just the white guys)," Ohanian insisted.

"The thing I wouldn't have realized 10 years ago is that this represents something much bigger than sport, because it's this double standard black women have to face every day at their jobs but there's no camera rolling," the New Yorker added.

"Love how you got your wife’s back king," said a follower, though Ohanian was also accused of virtue signaling. 

Post-match, following his 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-4 6-1 win which booked a place in the final with Rafael Nadal on Sunday, Medvedev admitted that he lost his head and should keep himself in check better.

"To be honest, I don’t think bad emotions help me too much," Medvedev said. "Many times I lose the match because of this, because you lose concentration and you lose energy.

"As soon as I’ve done it, I was like, ‘that was a big mistake’, but I’m happy that I managed to re-concentrate. I lost some energy but I had to refocus, I tried my best and I’m happy it worked," he concluded.