US Open - Serena fined for threatening outburst

Eurosport - Mon, 14 Sep 10:03:00 2009

Serena Williams was fined $10,500 (£6,320) by officials at the US Open and could face further sanctions after an investigation was launched into her angry outburst during her semi-final defeat by Kim Clijsters.

TENNIS Serena Williams left US Open with shame - 3 - 0

It is the biggest fine handed out to a woman player since records started being kept in 1990, according to the International Tennis Federation.

"The maximum permissible on site fine of $10,000 (£6020) has been levied for unsportsmanlike conduct against Serena Williams for her on court behaviour during the women's semi-final," the tournament referee said.

"Ms Williams also will be fined $500 (£300) for racket abuse which took place at the end of the first set of the same match."

Trailing 4-6 5-6 15-30, Williams launched into a second serve but the lineswoman sitting at the baseline held up her finger to call her on a foot-fault - meaning the American had served a double-fault to go match point down.

Astounded by the verdict, Williams walked over to the official screaming. She waved her racket ominously in the lineswoman's direction and then shook a ball in her clenched fist as she threatened "to shove it down" her throat.

"I swear to God I'm... going to take this ball and shove it down your... throat, you hear that? I swear to God. You better be glad... glad that I'm not, I swear," Williams told the line-judge in her expletive-laden rant.

Having already received a warning earlier in the match for smashing a racket, Williams was handed an automatic point penalty for a second violation which abruptly ended the match, giving Clijsters a 6-4 7-5 victory.

Some former players felt Williams could have been temporarily banned from the tour because of her actions.

Although no such punishment was handed out Sunday, the statement did not rule out further penalties.

"The grand slam rule book also allows for an investigation to be conducted... to determine if the behaviour of Ms Williams warrants consideration as a 'major offence' for which additional penalties can be imposed. This investigation has now begun," the statement added.

Almost 24 hours later, the tirade continued to be headline news in the United States and Roger Federer said it had left a "sour taste for everyone." WTA Tour chief Stacey Allaster deemed Williams's conduct "inappropriate and unprofessional."

"No matter what the circumstances, no player should be allowed to engage in such behaviour without suffering consequences. I have spoken with the USTA about this matter and I agree with the action they have taken," Allaster said.

"As a role model, it's important for a leader like Serena to step forward and recognize her behavior last night was unacceptable."

The fine handed out to Williams exceeded the penalty imposed on John McEnroe when he was defaulted from a fourth-round match at the 1990 Australian Open.

On Saturday the 27-year-old Williams was unrepentant about her rant but changed her tone slightly after having a night to think it over.

"Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job. Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I don't agree with the unfair line call, in the heat of battle I let my passion and emotion get the better of me and as a result handled the situation poorly," the American said.

"I would like to thank my fans and supporters for understanding that I am human and I look forward to continuing the journey, both professionally and personally, with you all as I move forward and grow from this experience."

Reuters

Comment 253 - 272 of 272

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  1. Entry no. 219-From Con, posted 14 Sept 12:59 pm. My­ response: I am not Serena Williams, I am Bibian Mukasa,­ what makes you say I am her, do I look like one who­ have a million dollar purse? My comments are just fair­ and transparent, thats all!!! Cheer up, are you in­ Australia for the 1st grand on the year? Maybe then you­ will see me and confirm I am not Miss S.W.

    From Bibian Mukasa, on Tue 13 Oct 12:48PM

  2. I have never seen anyone get so upset for just winning­ a half a million dollars. There is no excuse for this­ tennis players actions. If this same behavior was­ attempted by any of us in our prospective countries we­ would be charged with assault. It does not good to­ minimize this sort of behavior. Everyone knows full­ well that allowing behaviors such as this only causes­ it to happen more often and more severely. If the­ judge is in need of sanctions then there are rules in­ place to attend to these matters. The tennis player no­ matter the race or status has a right to assault a­ judge in the way that this tennis player showed. If I­ were to levy a punishment it would be at least a year­ suspension.

    From fiddler, on Wed 16 Sep 8:58PM

  3. For once the attention should go to the line judge. 1)­ She would have make a very bad call on a very bad­ timing. 2) She relating different story to the umpire.­ It was clearly posted that Serena did not mention the­ word Kill. I am dissapointed with Serena for how she­ handle her anger but I am more mad at the line judge.

    From Bblee, on Tue 15 Sep 9:13AM

  4. As an American and playing on home ground,­ Serena's outburst looked like a­ "monster" which was not a good image for­ America. She should learn to be more professional to­ behave herself better in the future and mature from­ there. Given a 2nd chance, I believe she can learn­ from mistakes. She is a super tennis player and should­ learn to polish herself to be more ladylike in the­ public too because the whole world is watching tennis­ and she must remember to set a good example for others.­ I am 100% sure that she didn't mean to kill anyone­ during her big frustration...she just couldn't­ accept her failure to win and this she must learn to­ accept in order to win the public support. Let's­ give her a chance and help her to grow up.

    From Holy Terror, on Tue 15 Sep 4:39AM

  5. Lol at the people who think she should be banned for 6­ months or a year. Did Conners or McEnroe get treated­ to lengthy bans for losing their tempers? I think not,­ so dont be stupid. Such a ban is not justified and­ gives hints as to your jealousy, or worse your­ prejudices

    From Roger, on Tue 15 Sep 12:29AM

  6. So she said a few nasty comments. How many other foot­ faults were called in the tournament? I'd love to­ see an analysis done. If it was an 'unusual'­ enforcement, then THAT should be the controversy. ­ Recognize that the woman has won 11 Grand Slams. ­ She's an all-time great. So she vented. The­ "I'm scared she'll kill me" statement­ by the lines-woman is shamefully ridiculous.

    From rahoyt, on Tue 15 Sep 12:26AM

  7. they should have banned her from kfc cos she sure looks­ like she eats enough of the stuff .she is defo a man in­ drag

    From DAZGGMU-RED-LEGEND-OF-YAHOO, on Mon 14 Sep 10:28PM

  8. Tonikum, next time read the post properly before you­ answer back with a load of rambling drivel. I did not­ say I condone it, but she is a grown woman and if she­ does not want to apologise then she shouldn't!! She­ has since apologised of course, as i'm sure she has­ thought about the consequences long and hard and­ realised it is in her best interests to do so. Try not­ to be quite so dramatic next time Tonikum, refering to­ knives etc is a little over the top don't you­ think?

    From Jude, on Mon 14 Sep 8:27PM

  9. Ajpbolton im afraid you have completely missed my­ point. I did not say what Serena did was right, but­ what is the point in apologising if she does not mean­ it (btw I know now she HAS apologised I am just­ replying to your post)?. Would you want an apology off­ someone if you knew they didn't mean it? I know I­ wouldn't, because unless an apology is meant it is­ worth nothing. I was trying to explain that Serena is a­ grown woman and is perfectly capable of making her own­ decisions and should those decisions backfire on her­ horribly in the future then that is something she alone­ has to live with. She is 27 and if she chooses to allow­ this thing to ruin her future then that is her­ business. That is the point i'm trying to make, not­ to condone what she did!!!

    From Jude, on Mon 14 Sep 8:20PM

  10. Comment 266. The amount of her fine isn't­ proportionate to earnings, it has a ceiling and­ that's that! Don't hate the player hate the­ game - as the Americans are proud of saying. Saying­ 'sorry' or insisting that one does, is a­ nonsense. Doing it so long after the event (giving the­ missed opportunities) really shows how absurb this is­ and it's no more than PR spin! So I maintain it is­ unfortunate but a la the antics of McEnroe history­ honours and remembers his achievements and­ contributions to the game; so with the passage of time­ Serena should be afforded the same. There are greater­ more devastating events that deserve our attention.

    From Rodian, on Mon 14 Sep 8:11PM

  11. GUTLESS!!!!
    what is the point of fining a foul mouthed­ threatening multi millionairess just ban her for 6­ months with a sever warning about her future behavior­ with say 12 months suspended for any futher­ transgressions

    From Alex F, on Mon 14 Sep 7:47PM

  12. "Kill the line girls in glasses!" was a joke­ but the rest is truth... the mistake comes from the­ lines girl, even there was a foot fault... The moment­ was wrong and we all see the result - the interesting­ mach has a bad end...

    From Mizrahi, on Mon 14 Sep 7:11PM

  13. I just read her statement ... it would have been better­ if she had made this apology in her presscon yesterday.­ And I can't help but wonder whether the threat of­ suspension was the motivating factor behind her­ apology. Be interesting to see whether the WTA or USTA­ take this any further now.

    From plumpot77, on Mon 14 Sep 7:09PM

  14. I have just read that Serena has now issued another­ statement in which she clearly apologies to everyone I­ mentioned. Although it is a pity it has taken her so­ long to do this, at least she has done it and that is­ to be welcomed. I think her latest (at this point)­ statement is heartfelt.
    I do hope she learns from this­ to be a bit more gracious in adversity on court and­ also afterwards when she has been beaten. I love her­ competitve spirit and her fire and would love her more­ if she could add a bit of grace to her manner and­ demenour after matches - not only when she wins!

    From Mark, on Mon 14 Sep 6:48PM

  15. "Has someone just died" asked Rodian. Is that­ would it would take, for this to be taken­ seriously?
    Serena clearly threatened an official with­ assault, this is not only bad sportsmanship but­ potentially a criminal matter. I am confident there was­ no intent on her part to carry it out but her outburst­ of swearing is surely unnaceptable - or have our­ standards fallen so far that is acceptable "in the­ heat of battle"?
    To my mind, even more serious is­ that one day after the event the statement issued by a­ PR company on her behalf (!) contains no apology to the­ official concerned, the fans in the stadium and those­ watching on tv all around the world. Shame on you­ Serena, we expected better of you.
    For those who say­ she has been punished, move on - please! She has been­ fined less than 3% of the money she earnt from this­ tournament alone. This is spare cash for Serena -­ totally meaningless.

    From Mark, on Mon 14 Sep 6:40PM

  16. A point that hasnt been brought up yet is what would­ happen if the line judge brought a private prosecution­ for threatenning behaviour from Serena Williams? And­ where would it leave the ITF if she was found guilty?

    From Peter, on Mon 14 Sep 6:16PM

  17. Well it's a pity for the game and fans alike, but­ honestly has anyone DIED?!! The mauling and savage­ outpouring is really unecessary. She has been fined­ and as such punished......move on people - it's­ only a game!!

    From Rodian, on Mon 14 Sep 5:43PM

  18. Mizrahi, You are not an UNDERTAKER by any chance are­ you, because you'de have a lot to gain by a comment­ like that. We could have you sitting courtside with a­ rifle and Bang every linesperson who calls a ball out­ against Serena.....so she could win events so you can­ sleep better at night cause your idol won. F#$%^g­ idiot. Do you people think this is some kind of Video­ game?????????

    From Con, on Mon 14 Sep 5:28PM

  19. DISGUSTING behaviour from Serena Williams,she showed­ the whole world what whe was made of...Even though the­ D fault was wrong(that's what I thk),she should­ have never behaved like this.She tends to take normal­ people for pieces of s h i t.She got what she­ deserved.Well done KIM!!!

    From rc_allcock, on Mon 14 Sep 5:16PM

  20. Ban her atleast for a year (ok even less, then 6­ months). She needs to get it for her arrogance, and­ this would be a good lesson to all tennis pro's­ that this is still a gentleman's game. No arrogant­ millionaires need to show up on court. Serena, u need­ therapy...u real no.1.

    From mark_meu, on Mon 14 Sep 4:55PM
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