Serena Williams has been fined a total of $17,000 for three code violations during her 2-6, 4-6 loss to Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the US Open final.
In the course of the match, the 36-year-old tennis star had been cited by chair umpire Carlos Ramos for: getting coaching signals; breaking her racket, which cost her a point; and calling the chair umpire a “thief”, which cost her a game.
A day after the match, the tournament referee’s office docked Williams $10,000 for “verbal abuse” of chair umpire Carlos Ramos, $4,000 for being warned for coaching, and $3,000 for breaking her racket.
The money comes out of her prize money of $1.85 million as the runner-up to Osaka, whose victory on Saturday, 8 September, made her the first tennis player from Japan to win a Grand Slam singles title.
It started in the second game of the first set when Williams was given a warning for coaching. In response, the former world no 1 told the umpire that she'd "rather lose" than cheat.
Williams told Ramos that she was not being coached but being given a thumbs up from her box, which is not a violation.
Later in the second set, after the fifth game, Williams was given a second violation, this one for smashing her racket. And yet again, she yelled at chair umpire Ramos. Williams resumed her argument after the second violation, still angry about the first one. The second code violation cost Williams a point, meaning Naomi Osaka had a 15-0 even before hitting her first serve in the sixth game of the second set.
Every time I play here, I have problems. I did not have coaching, I don’t cheat. You need to make an announcement. I have a daughter and I stand for what’s right. You owe me an apology.Serena Williams
For you to attack my character is wrong. You owe me an apology. You will never be on a court with me as long as you live. You are the liar. You owe me an apology. Say it. Say you’re sorry. You stole a point from me. You are a thief too,” said Williams, continued her rant after change of ends.
It was then that Ramos gave Williams a game penalty for verbal abuse. So instead of 4-3, Osaka went 5-3 up in the second set.
This was the third high-profile conflict with an official for Williams at Flushing Meadows, following her infamous attack after a foot fault in the 2009 semi-finals against Kim Clijsters, and a dispute over a hindrance call in the 2011 final against Sam Stosur.
(With inputs from AP)
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