Do you remember Serena Williams outburst back in September? During the U.S. Open, Williams was called for a foot fault and then cursed out the line judge, which ultimately caused Williams to lose the semi-final match to Kim Clijsters. Well, Grand Slam administrator Bill Babcock won't forget and gave his judgment on Serena's punishment on Monday.
Babcock announced that Williams will be fined $82,000 for her tirade and put on a two-year probationary period. If Serena has another outburst or major offense at any Grand Slam Tournament, she will be barred from the next U.S. Open and fined $175,000.
Babcock told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from London, "...if she does not have another offense in the next two years, the suspension [will be] lifted."
The fine is the highest any professional tennis player has ever received. The previous highest fine was $48,000 against Jeff Tarango in the 1990s. Williams was already fined $10,000 from the U.S. Tennis Association shortly after the incident, which is the highest the organization could fine a player on site.
There are a total of four Grand Slam tournaments that Williams must be on her best behavior for over the next two years: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. The Australian Open is the next tournament on the schedule and occurs January 18–31, 2010. Williams has yet to respond to the judgment.
Even though the fines may seem steep, it's not like Serena can't afford the fine. For making the U.S. Open semi-finals, she earned a nice $350,000. Still, is the punishment too harsh? Serena has thrown tantrums before: screaming, yelling, throwing and breaking rackets and she's lost points and has been fined for those. She has never threatened an official, though.
If an athlete in the NBA or NFL were to threaten an official, they could be suspended for an entire season and lose out on millions in salary. So in comparison, the punishment is light, especially since she isn't suspended from any upcoming tournaments. We think Serena will be on her best behavior from here on out.
Comments: (144)
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By: Peaches on 11/30/2009 7:24PM
She got what she deserved. She sure let that ghetto out in her. She has that holier than thou atiltude when she is on talk shows. I bet she will think twice before she does that again. There is no excuse for bad behavior. I think of all the young black children who look up to her. It isnt ok to be disrespectful to anyone. That behavior was very childish.
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By: free on 11/30/2009 8:38PM
Peaches- Maybe you are letting your own personal feelings or jealousy toward Serena affect your judgement.
What holier than thou attittude on what shows? Please name them. She seems arrogant at times(her idiot dad raised her to think that and outbursts were a way to get respect), but holier than thou? She never moralized over anyone else.
I wonder if you can name some famous black MALE atheletes who you think got the punishment they deserve- or should "get it".
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By: Summertime on 11/30/2009 10:32PM
People of every ethnicity have tempers. To characterize Serena's behavior, no matter how inappropriate, as "ghetto" is nasty and racist. Remember John McEnroe? Did he come from "the ghetto?" Hardly. He was from Douglaston, Queens, an affluent, predominantly white community on the North Shore of Long Island and attended Trinity School, a private school in New York City. To go where you immediately went is just plain ugly.
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By: rob on 11/30/2009 10:25PM
It's racist assholes like yourself that make the rest of us good white folk look like scum ! STFU you scumbag !
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By: geneskillet4 on 11/30/2009 11:20PM
I hope people will start carrying something….anything like at least a Pepper Spray for protection. This website was created after the tragic Virginia Tech School shooting to help people protect themselves and their families and is responsible for saving several lives since starting in 2007. It has a wide variety of Pepper Sprays, Stun Guns, Tasers and many other Home and Personal Security Products! (http://AntiBadGuy.com)
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By: Lisa on 12/01/2009 1:00AM
Rob replies: "It's racist assholes like yourself that make the rest of us good white folk look like scum ! STFU you scumbag !"@@@@ Hey, how do you know if "Peaches" is black or white??? Is you "good white folk" trying to score points???
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By: bobbie on 12/01/2009 1:58AM
She got what she deserved. She acted like a pig out there.
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By: Jon Q on 12/01/2009 2:23AM
You dont think white children might look up to her too?
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By: Sus7637 on 12/02/2009 12:12PM
Peaches is your typical jealous female B as always,hating because she's a broke busted B*tch with nothing but men's Pns's going in and out between her legs day in and day out. we need to ignore ignorant zeros like her with no life.
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By: wendell on 12/17/2009 7:22PM
you sound like a fool there are more whites playing than blacks so to me that means more whites ohbut you sound like you not in love with us black any way
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