.jpg)
Serena Williams at the U.S. Open/Photo by Brunskill/Getty
Australian tennis officials are upset that Serena Williams received only a stiff fine -- stiff by the standards of a working stiff anyway -- but received no suspension for here profane tirade against a linesperson who called a foot fault on her at the U.S. Open.
The Courrier Mail and The Daily Telegraph, a pair of Australian newspapers, quoted tennis officials anonymously saying they were disappointed that the International Tennis Federation decided not to ban Williams from the Australian Open.
"We are disgusted that a player who launched a bitter and malicious attack on a lineswoman could escape with a relatively meager fine," one Australian official told The Courier Mail and The Daily Telegraph. "What sort of message does this send when we are trying to impose high standards of discipline on the next generation of Australian stars?"
Williams, the world No. 1 ranked player, was fined $82,500 for her comments to a linesperson who called a foot fault on her. It was the largest fine ever levied by the ITF, far more than the previous record of $48,000 levied against Jeff Tarango in 1995 for his outburst at Wimbledon.
She will be allowed to play in the Australian Open, the first major of the year, next month. If she has another significant outburst in the next two years, the fine will increase to $175,000 and Williams could be barred from the U.S. Open.
Replays showed that Williams told the linesperson, after a foot-fault call, "I swear to God, I'm f------ going to take this f------ ball and shove it down your f------ throat and kill you."
See also:
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TENNIS NOTES
DAVYDENKO PASSES RODDICK IN RANKINGS WITH WIN
(See Wednesday slide show here.)
FEDERER LOSES MATCH BUT ADVANCES
FEDERER CLINCHES NO. 1 RANKING FOR 2009
NADAL'S CHANCE OF FINISHING NO. 1 SLIPPING AWAY
FEDERER, NADAL PLAY FOR NO. 1 IN LONDON
DJOKOVIC WINS SECOND STRAIGHT TOURNAMENT
NADAL, DJOKOVIC MEET IN SEMIFINALS
Comments
What? The line judges call was incorrect?? I don't think so. What replay are you talking about? I have never seen any such replay and I have been looking.
Also, Williams did not say she would kill the lines judge. She though the lines judge accused her of that, but later agreed that this was a mistake on her part and no such accusation was made. Man, this is bad reporting on your part!
Why does this article only cite one unnamed Australian tennis official that's upset that Serena is not banned from their event? All the reports I read previously seemed to give the impression that the Aussies didn't want to suffer the financial/ratings consequences of not having Serena participate. I just think if you're going to say "Australian tennis officials upset that Serena is not banned" you ought to have comments from more than one and if they are going to complain, then they shouldn't be afraid to be named. Go Serena!!!!!!!
"Replays also showed that the linesperson's call was incorrect."
Really? The only person who thought so was John MacEnroe who thought the foot fault should not have even been called. There was no definitive video that showed no foot fault but on video that showed Serena's foot moving forward before her serve, evidence that there may have actually been a foot fault. How hard is it to see whether a stati0onary foot is on the line? It's not going 100+ MPH!
This is a horrible report. This is not in depth, and the headline makes it seem as if there is a large consensus against Serena in Australia. The quote is also inaccurate. This is just really unintelligent and poorly researched.
You are an awful writer. You should really get your facts straight.
Shall we say that Serena be banned from playing tennis again then since no penalty seem to be enough. What is punishment in this case ment to achieve? to destroy Serena or what? She made a very bad mistake that will follow her for the rest of her career/life and she has said the correct things since after her initial stupidity of not apologising. Over and over again she has restated how sorry she is about this incident. Leave her alone and let us all move on. This report is totally false and smells hatred. No Australian official either by name or anonymous wanted Serena suspended. Rather it was the Australian officials that insisted that Serena cannot be banned from Aussie open for an offence commited in New York. Australians wanted Serena in the upcoming tournament and they sited her good behavior in past Aussie opens as a reason for the support. I cannot ask you to get your facts correct because I know for sure you know it but your repoting is only beclouded by your hate.
I believe this is one of the worst article I have read thus far. What do you and other reporters have against the Williams Sister. If you are not going to name names than just keep it to yourself, because it only make you look like you are the person who wanted Serena banned from the Australian Open. Yes she behaved badly, but I believe it is time to move on. There is one thing you do have to look forward to since you want her banned so badly, she will probably retire in 3 years than you can find someone else to make up articles about. Hater!!!!!
You know this piece of CHIT made up this ridiculous statement that Australian officials wanted Serena banned. The Australian Committee spend so much money on advertising Serena for the AO in 2010. I don't believe his story, he just a racist himself, who wanted Serena to be banned from the tournament, did you noticed he said so unmaned source made the statement,he is just lying piece of chit.
jake the snake. crawl back under the rock you slid from under. you are one of the worst writers i have came across. this mess you scribbled is douch water. do the world a favor, retire, your hate is so out there, and the lie you told on serena about killing this linesperson, pulleeeez. this is all about you, and your hate for this young beautiful global super star. Australia's promoters already said, they wanted serena to play, and if she is to be penalized, don't take her from the AO. They spent a lot of money to promote serena at AO, because she is excitement and good for this tournament, and they look forward to having her there. now take this bogus article and put it where the sun don't shine. you are a disgrace to the company you work for. i would never buy or apply to anything that involve the examiner. Oh, and by the way, make sure you do a piece on the linesperson to see why she made that bogus call, i watched that tape over and over, and did not see a foot fault. CREEP
She never said "I will kill you?" That's an easily checked fact. Makes you wonder about the veracity of the rest of the article, doesn't it?
Additionally, shouldn't the next generation of Australian tennis stars (and who would those be exactly?) be looking up to their racist Satan Hewitt or Weirdo Sam Stosur for guidance and inspiration?
Nice try....douchebag.
I find it strange that he only had a single source for which he can't produce. The issue of racism I can't say but I do know there is disparte treatment here. There have been players that have out right made racial comments about players and they were not fine. I don't condone her behavior but let us be real that we have all or shall I say most of us have had lasps in judgement and unfilter words.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!