S. Williams US Open

[stonehands]

sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/usopen09/news/story?id=4469987&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams was fined $10,000 Sunday for a profanity-laced tirade directed at a U.S. Open line judge, and an investigation is under way to determine whether there should be additional punishment.

The $10,000 penalty -- not quite 3 percent of the $350,000 in prize money Williams earned by reaching the semifinals at Flushing Meadows -- is the maximum on-site fine that can be issued for unsportsmanlike conduct at a Grand Slam tournament.

The U.S. Open said in a statement that the Grand Slam Committee Administrator will "determine if the behavior of Ms. Williams warrants consideration as a major offense for which additional penalties can be imposed."

Williams, who was the defending champion, also was docked $500 for smashing her racket after the first set of what became a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Kim Clijsters on Saturday night.

Two points from losing in the second set, Williams faulted at 5-6, 15-30. On her second serve there, the line judge called a foot fault, making it 15-40 and giving Clijsters a match point. Williams began berating the line judge and a penalty point was awarded to Clijsters; because it happened to come on match point, it ended the semifinal.

"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," Williams said in a statement released Sunday by a public relations firm.

"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."

The chairman and CEO of the women's tennis tour, Stacey Allaster, issued a statement calling Williams' conduct Saturday "inappropriate and unprofessional."

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

Williams and her older sister Venus Williams are scheduled to play in the women's doubles final Monday. Venus got in some work on a U.S. Open practice court Sunday; Serena wasn't with her.


Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
------------
How is what she did any different from McEnroe or Connors?

[romeo]

It isn't different except for her gender. Girls aren't 'supposed' to behave that way. Personally, I think she did lose her composure, but for a very valid reason. No WAY should that line judge have called that! They never do! It's comparable to baseball and the ole phantom touching of the bag on a double play. Can you imagine if it's the World Series, and the guy calls the runner safe (after never calling that all season long). The crowd would be the ones making the threats there!

[XAsstCoach]

They have instant replays in tennis....why not challenge the call? Unless its one of those calls you can't challenge like they have in football. Which is kind of stupid....you have instant replays and if you want to challenge any calls, then do it.

BTW, I hate those lights on the tennis courts at night. The line is always a blur to me and can't tell if the ball is in or out....so I always call it out. Kind of explains why no one wanted to play me in tennis at night anymore.

[mikegarrison]

There is a right way and a wrong way to ask for a review of a line call.

Also, I don't know if she had any reviews left. They only have a certain number of them to use up.

[Not Me]

Sept 13, 2009 19:30:15 GMT -5 romeo said:

It isn't different except for her gender. Girls aren't 'supposed' to behave that way. Personally, I think she did lose her composure, but for a very valid reason. No WAY should that line judge have called that! They never do! It's comparable to baseball and the ole phantom touching of the bag on a double play. Can you imagine if it's the World Series, and the guy calls the runner safe (after never calling that all season long). The crowd would be the ones making the threats there!

And if a baseball player reacted that way in a playoff game, they would have been tossed.

And if a basketball player had reacted that way, they would have gotten at least one Technical, probably two.

Any time you threaten an official, you should be be penalized. Regardless of the sport, gender, or circumstances.

[Barky]

I agree with her being penalized but there is a double standard where people are more appalled by seeing a female react that way. McEnroe did that all the time. He should have been penalized a lot worse than he ever was.

I thought Serena had a right to be upset. It's like getting called for a questionable lift on the first contact in volleyball at the very end of an important semifinal match. I also thought the line judge fueled her anger by smirking at her while she was upset and losing it. Having said that, Serena definitely could/should have handled it differently.

[Deleted]

Give her credit, however. The harsher call -- even if it was fair -- was the penalty point, and she took that without going ballistic.

[Phaedrus]

She, Serena, did state in the press conference that she probably did foot fault. Which makes her behaviour even more curious.

[The Bofa on the Sofa]

Sept 14, 2009 14:51:08 GMT -5 Phaedrus said:

She, Serena, did state in the press conference that she probably did foot fault. Which makes her behaviour even more curious.

I don't think that is the issue. She also would say that she probably foot-faulted a half a dozen times in the match and it wasn't called then, so why now?

[Phaedrus]

Nope, she also has a history of foot faulting. Its unfortunate that she got knocked out on that call, but she lost the match on all the other shots. Its not like she was winning and they forfeited her. She was on the verge of losing anyways, she was serving for match point.

The line judge did her job, you can't fault her for that. (No pun intended).

It was Serena that didn't do her job, which was to serve the ball cleanly.

[XAsstCoach]

'Roid rage?

[psuemm232]

I remember watching the match live and I thought it was a foot fault when I first saw it. In any rate, comments like that should not be tollerated in any sport.

[Deleted]

I don't understand why anyone thinks her comments WERE tolerated.

She was fined $10,000! I realize for her that's pocket change, but that's more money than some people have to pay when they get a DUI and ACTUALLY kill someone.

She also received a penalty point, which ENDED THE MATCH. She lost the match because of her outburst. What were they supposed to do right then?

I realize they could have barred her from playing in the doubles competition - but what punishment would that be? That's like taking one beer away from a guy who has 30 more by his side. It doesn't really make a difference. Missing out on doubles at the US Open for Serena Williams isn't going to make a difference to anyone... except network TV who can't get anyone to watch the doubles matches even WITH the big names in the mix...

[po'okela]

OMG!!!

serena serena serena... everyone has had a bad call - but to tell the line judge that you're going to shove the ball down her effen throat... CLASSIC!

i'm your new NUMBER 1 FAN.

[Pipe Attack]

Sept 14, 2009 5:33:35 GMT -5 XAsstCoach said:

They have instant replays in tennis....why not challenge the call? Unless its one of those calls you can't challenge like they have in football. Which is kind of stupid....you have instant replays and if you want to challenge any calls, then do it.

Just to clarify, even if she wanted to, she could not challenge the foot fault call. They don't have the technology for that (they stated this during one of the broadcasts). Their challenge (in which they have that computerized review) only tracks the tennis ball.