Serena Williams responded to those who criticize her for dating her coach, saying, ‘Don’t use my past to judge my present.”

I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t realise that this penis precluded me from commenting on an elite figure in tennis challenging the authority of an umpire. And men need to support Serena in what? Her right to act as a spoiled child when legitimately confronted by authority. Don’t think we do. There are worthier causes.

Go back and look at all the temper tantrums that men have displayed on the court and they get no penalties. Especially a whole game. It’s a double standard when it comes to bad behaviour. You are all missing the point. SeattleLib65, Seattle.

Actually, male tennis players are frequently punished for poor behaviour. The majority of punishments, rightly, go to males. Maybe they don’t lose games, but then maybe the verbal challenges to umpires were not repeated and carried on across the best part of a set, and did not include words as significant as ‘thief’ or ‘liar’. Equivalency is the most dismal argument because it is unachievable unless the same umpire takes charge of every match.

Famously, Wayne Rooney repeatedly swore at the referee Graham Poll during a football match, and escaped punishment; the next week an official may be offended by the same words and issue a red or yellow card. It depends on the interpretation or threshold of the official. Carlos Ramos clearly felt a line had been crossed by Williams and took the action he believed appropriate. That is no double standard: he is entirely within his rights.