Serena fined, more punishment possible
Martin Rogers
By Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports 1 hour, 27 minutes ago
NEW YORK – Serena Williams faces an anxious wait to see if she is to be banned from future Grand Slam tournaments following her controversial outburst at the U.S. Open.
Williams was levied with a $10,000 fine by the U.S. Open for unsportsmanlike conduct on Sunday for her foul-mouthed tirade at a line judge the night before, as she slumped to a semifinals defeat to Kim Clijsters. The fine was the maximum possible at this stage. An additional $500 fine for racket abuse was also imposed by tournament referee Brian Earley, but those on-site punishments could be just the tip of the iceberg for the world No. 2.
A further investigation by the Grand Slam Committee, as first reported by Yahoo! Sports on Saturday night, has already begun and will prompt serious concern from Williams and her supporters.
The committee has the authority to strip Williams of her entire $350,000 prize purse for this tournament, plus hand down a ban for future Slams starting with the 2010 Australian Open. A Grand Slam Committee administrator will first determine whether Williams’ actions warrant consideration as a “major offense” – a near certainty given the nature of her comments towards the official. It is likely that she would be charged with “aggravated behavior” for conduct that was “flagrant and particularly injurious to the success of a Grand Slam, or is singularly egregious,” according to the Grand Slam rule book.
Williams had made no official comment on the matter by Sunday evening and
had not updated her Twitter page since before her 6-4, 7-5 defeat to Clijsters. Williams has won 11 Grand Slam titles and is the defending champion at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Martin Rogers is a staff writer for Yahoo! Sports.
Serena fined, more punishment possible - Tennis - Yahoo! Sports