Watched it live and frankly I didn't see a foot fault. I wish they would have showed different angles of it. At the most, she should have challenged it instead of acting like a spoiled brat on the court. She should have been aware that it was double match point, but frankly I think she thinks she can get away with anything without any consequences.
It's been an amazing tournament so far, been watching it since the beginning. I'm happy that Clijsters is in the finals, I would have loved to see these 2 players finish the match, but Serena's behavior warranted the penalty point. She knows better.
I don't see any other video on Youtube other than what we saw on tv last night, which was the shot behind the baseline. Nevertheless, she handled it completely wrong and was probably just pissed and a little embarrassed that she was going to lose since she was the defending champion from last year.
Looks like it could cost her alot more than just the game....
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. However, she is expected to be allowed to compete in Mondays womens doubles final alongside sister Venus.
A Grand Slam Committee administrator will first determine whether Serena Williams actions warrant consideration as a major offense a near certainty given the nature of her comments toward 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 released a statement on Sunday evening claiming her actions had highlighted her intensity for the game. Last night everyone could truly see the passion I have for my job, she said.
Now that I have had time to gain my composure, I can see that while I dont 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 has won 11 Grand Slam titles and is the defending champion at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
I didn't see her tirade, but this prompted me to wiki john McEnroe, who was famous for cursing out judges. He also screamed at a judge "answer my question, jerk!" and slammed his racket into a juice cart. The most I saw him fined for was $1,500.
Johnny Mac was an asshole too - but he danced the line a lot better than "I'll shove the ball down your fucking throat..."
Tennis would be stupid to ban her. Hit her where it hurts - in the wallet - and make her apologize without reservation or any of that "...if my words offended anyone..." nonsense and be done with it.
I think it's kinda a funny place for these athletes to be in. As athletes, I would imagine they have been brought up to believe that their sport IS their life. Getting a bad call, putting their 'life' in jeopardy is obviously going to cause a huge amount of grief on her that I think any normal person would respond in the same way. But then we expect them to act like a business man who just found out that the last poppyseed muffin went bad.
I don't think athletes are comparaple with normal people, as I think most normal people have a life outside of work.
While they were waiting out the rain delay, one of the stations showed Jimmy Conners having a meltdown during a game in 1991. He went on and on and everytime he got a point, he would gesture to the judge. It was bad.
I seem to remember it being much more common when he and McEnroe were at the height of their games.
Tennis needs to get over itself.
$500 for racket abuse. What a joke.
It's her own racket. She should be allowed to break it if she wants to as long as she doesn't injure someone or damage the court or net in some way.
If baseball players were fined whenever they intentionally break bats after making an out, they could have some sizeable fines by the end of the season.
I agree she was out of line in her treatment of the judge, but I think the racket thing was just her being frustrated with herself cause she was getting schooled in the match.
