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Serena Williams fined $82,500 for US Open rant
If she does anything like it again in a Grand Slam event, she faces suspension
The powers-that-be in the world of Grand Slam tennis have finally decided what to do about Serena Williams following her foul-mouthed tirade at a line judge in a semi-final at the US Open in September.
She has been fined a record $82,500 for swearing at a lineswoman who called a foot-fault. According to New York press reports at the time, she said: "I swear to God I'll fucking take the ball and shove it down your fucking throat."
As well as the fine, Grand Slam administrator Bill Babcock said today Williams would be "on probation" for two years. If she commits another "major offence" in that period, the fine will be increased to $175,000 and she will face suspension.
The fine is the biggest handed down by tennis authorities since the American player Jeff Tarango was disciplined in 1995 for yelling at the match umpire in the third round at Wimbledon. Tarango called Bruno Rebeuh "one of the most corrupt officials in the game" and then stormed off court. To make the occasion even more colourful, Tarango's French wife, Benedicte, then slapped Rebeuh twice in the face. Tarango was fined either $48,000 or $63,000, according to differing reports at the time.
Williams's outburst, which came during this year's semi-final against the Belgian player Kim Clijsters, shocked the Flushing Meadows crowd. Even John McEnroe, commentating for US television, felt her reaction was over the top and that Williams should be suspended.
Williams was only a point away from defeat in a two-set game when the foot fault was called and she lost her cool. Because she had already been warned for racquet abuse earlier in the game, she was penalised one point - handing the match to Clijsters who then went on to beat the Dane Caroline Wozniacki and win the US Open. ·
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Because she is who she is, this incident will ofcourse be blown out of proportion. I never could accept that referees or umpires who make blatant mistakes are hardly ever brought to book.It was a bad call at a critical stage of the match, but that ofcourse is not being talked about at all. When you consider the number of unfair decisions made against the Williams' sisters over the decades, and which they have accepted with equanimity, Serena could well be forgiven for losing her temper on that occasion. Unlike many, she did apologise at once. I think the fine was too harsh.
What Serena said to the linesman was a threat, pure and simple, and for that she should have been suspended on the spot and the game ceded to Clijsters. There is a world of difference between that and swearing to oneself or abusing one's racket in a moment of frustration, or the mild remarks 'you must be joking' or 'this is the pits of the world' such as McEnroe came out with. Even Greg Rudsetski's notorious effing episode was nothing like this. It is a new low when powerful rich superstars make threats of physical violence against officials who are just doing their job.