When ESPN’s microphones caught Serena Williams’ spat with umpire Carlos Ramos, ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi knew his post-match interview was going to be a bit different.
“As soon as what happened in the second set and ultimately how it affected the match, we understood logically that the script was going to have to be altered and ultimately it was,” Rinaldi told The Athletic.
The longtime ESPN sideline reporter drew criticism after a cringe-worthy trophy presentation following the controversial US Open women’s final, which 20-year-old Naomi Osaka won 6-2, 6-4 against Williams on Saturday.
Rinaldi, who typically asks two to three questions of both the winner and runner-up, first asked Williams about the match. Understandably, she demurred.
“In my mind, I was going to ask [Williams] a very simple question in an open-ended way about describing the match,” Rinaldi said. “The second question would have been based on her answer to the first, naturally, and to address what had happened in the second set. The third question would have followed the second. I don’t know that I had a hard, fast three questions, but in this spot, if there was ever a premium placed on listening to what the athlete says, it was that trophy celebration.”
While Williams passed on his question, Rinaldi said her response to an aggressive and appalling crowd wound up saving the interview and presentation, as Williams pleaded with a rowdy Arthur Ashe audience to stop booing as Osaka stood crying on the podium.
“She was the only voice that could have addressed the crowd in the way she did and gotten the crowd to respond. She was very gracious and direct in doing that,” he said.
Following the questions with Williams, Rinaldi asked Osaka if the match met her dreams.
“I know that everyone was cheering for her, and I’m sorry it had to end like this,” Osaka said during the presentation. “I just want to say thank you for watching the match. Thank you.”
Rinaldi said he thought Osaka, who won her first Grand Slam against her idol, handled the following questions “very, very well.”
“My hope there is people get a sense of what the moment means to the player,” Rinaldi said. “That is the point of those questions — to bring people into the players’ experience in that moment. We have just seen that player compete and now for the first time we get to hear that player share what the moment means. That was the goal in Naomi’s case.”