Serena Williams was fined a record $82,500 for her tirade at a U.S.
Open line judge and could be suspended from that tournament if she
has another "major offense" at any Grand Slam in the next two
years.
Grand Slam administrator Bill Babcock's ruling was released
Monday, and he said Williams faces a "probationary period" at
tennis' four major championships in 2010 and 2011. If she has
another "major offense" at a Grand Slam tournament in that time,
the fine would increase to $175,000 and she would be barred from
the following U.S. Open.
"But if she does not have another offense in the next two
years, the suspension is lifted," Babcock said in a telephone
interview from London.
He said Williams is handing over $82,500 right now to the
Grand Slam committee, already far more than the previous highest
fine for a Grand Slam offense. In 1995, Jeff Tarango stormed off
the court at Wimbledon and accused the chair umpire of showing
favoritism to certain players in exchange for their friendship.
Tarango was fined a total of $43,756, which was reduced to $28,256
on appeal, and barred from Wimbledon the next year.
Williams lashed out at a lineswoman after a foot-fault call
at the end of her semifinal loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters
at the U.S. Open in September. It was a profanity-laced,
finger-pointing, racket-brandishing display in which Williams
approached the official with what U.S. Open tournament director Jim
Curley called at the time "a threatening manner."
"I am thankful that we now have closure on the incident and
we can all move forward," Williams said in a statement released
Monday by her publicist. "I am back in training in preparation for
next season and I continue to be grateful for all of the support
from my fans and the tennis community."
She earned $350,000 by reaching the U.S. Open singles
semifinals, part of her more than $6.5 million in prize money in
2009, a single-season record for women's tennis. Her career prize
money tops $28 million.
The American is an 11-time Grand Slam singles champion and
ended the 2009 season at No. 1 in the WTA rankings.
Williams' outburst drew a $10,000 fine from the U.S. Tennis
Association in September — the maximum onsite penalty a
tennis player can face. But because it happened at a Grand Slam
tournament, Babcock was charged with investigating whether further
punishment was merited.
He concluded that Williams violated the "major offense" rule
for "aggravated behavior." The Grand Slam committee — with
one representative from each of the sport's four major
championships, including USTA president Lucy Garvin —
approved his decision Saturday.
"As a voting member of the Grand Slam committee, the USTA
agrees with the additional penalties levied against Serena Williams
for her on-court behavior during her semifinal match at the 2009
U.S. Open," the USTA said in a statement released to the AP. "The
USTA looks forward to Ms. Williams competing in the 2010 US Open."
Babcock said a "major offense" under Grand Slam rules is "any
conduct that is determined to be the 'major offense' of 'aggravated
behavior' or 'conduct detrimental to the game."' There is no
specific definition of what sort of actions constitute a "major
offense."
He said the highest possible fine that Williams could face
— $175,000, if she violates her Grand Slam probation —
was chosen because it is the difference in winnings between
reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals at the U.S. Open. The
$10,000 Williams already was docked by the USTA will be counted
toward that total; that's why she is paying half of $165,000 now.
During the Sept. 12 match at Flushing Meadows, the foot fault
— a call rarely, if ever, made at that stage of such a
significant match — resulted in a double-fault for Williams,
moving Clijsters one point from victory.
Williams paused, retrieved a ball to serve again and then
stopped. She stepped toward the official, screaming, cursing and
shaking the ball at her. Williams was penalized a point. It
happened to come on match point, ending the semifinal with
Clijsters ahead 6-4, 7-5.
