FAIRYTALE RUINED: Saddest part of ugly Serena outburst

OPINION

SERENA Williams’ shocking US Open loss to Naomi Osaka left a bad taste in a lot of mouths and as much as most of the world’s Serena superfans don’t want to admit, it was almost entirely the 23-time champion’s fault.

The final was sent sprialling into rare territory as chair umpire Carlos Ramos pulled up Serena’s camp, catching her coach Patrick Mouratoglou gesturing for her to move closer to the net early in the second set.

Williams immediately blew up at the official, claiming she “doesn’t cheat” and would “rather lose” than be busted for foul play.

After taking the first slap on the wrist personally, most of us expected the experienced tennis champion to shake it off as a blip on the radar before getting on with winning her seventh Flushing Meadows crown.

That wasn’t the case.

The match continued for barely 10 minutes before Ramos docked Williams for racket abuse as Osaka began to run away with the match, sparking another outburst from the 36-year-old.

She labelled him a “thief” and a “liar” before setting off on an ugly rant at referee Brian Earley, halting the match for several minutes. She then claimed she was “owed an apology” from Ramos in an act of petulance rivalling anything seen from Nick Kyrgios.

Renowned tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg claimed Williams felt entitled to have the coaching warning retracted. He could not have been more correct.

As fans watched on in awe of the extraordinary meltdown of one of the most successful sports stars in history, a sheepish Osaka stood in the shadows.

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