Serena Williams has been fined $10,000, for her unsportsmanlike conduct during her US Open semi-final defeat to Kim Clijsters. The profanity filled outburst by Serena Williams towards a line judge will now cost her more than just the semifinal match she lost to Kim Clijsters.
Serena Williams was also fined $500, for racket abuse. A statement from the tournament added: "The grand slam rule book also allows for an investigation to be conducted by the grand slam committee administrator to determine if the behaviour of Serena Williams warrants consideration as a major offence for which additional penalties can be imposed. This investigation has now begun."
Clijsters was winning what ended up being the final game of semifinal match against Williams. Williams was serving and was trailing 15-30. On her first serve she faulted. On her second serve the line judge called a foot fault given the point to Clijsters. Williams exposed in a fury outburst filled with profanity towards the line judge. As a result Williams was deducted a point for unsportsmanlike conduct. This point was also the match point, giving Clijsters the win.
Only after the investigation has been concluded will she know what her outburst will cost her from the tennis association. But only time will tell how much love she lost from fans.
Belgian Kim Clijsters crowns comeback with US Open title, Unseeded Kim Clijsters won her second U.S. Open championship, After a match-winning forehand, Clijsters, 26, celebrated with her 18 month old daughter Jada and her husband Brian Lynch, who once played basketball at Villanova and who tugged on his stubbly beard throughout the match. "I was more nervous than Kim," he said.
Jada left her little-girl fingerprints on the silver trophy and dashed back and forth in front of the photographers. She also impishly kept pulling up one leg of her black stretch pants to her knee, even after Clijsters made motherly attempts to tidy up her toddler.
Clijsters is the first mother to win this tournament in tennis' Open era (1968-present) and the first one to win any major since Evonne Goolagong won Wimbledon in 1980. She came here as an unseeded wild-card entry, needing an invitation into the main draw because she didn't have a computer ranking after retiring two years ago so she could become a wife and mother.
When a celebration of her big win over Williams was denied because of the circumstances, Clijsters was allowed to fully experience the joy of this evening. After her winning forehand she dropped to her knees and covered her face. When she uncovered her eyes, the tears started.
"I can't believe this happened," Clijsters said. "It still seems so surreal. I just wanted to come here and get a feel for it all over again, play a Grand Slam so when I started the next year I didn't have to go through all the new experiences. It's a great feeling to have, but confusing in a lot of ways as well."
Her physical trainer, Sam Verslegers, said that when Clijsters began in January to work toward making a comeback, she was at "zero" in terms of strength and conditioning. "I didn't set up goals," Verslegers said. "She could run about 30 minutes, that was it."
There was a plan, though, according to her coach Wim Fassette. "When we started we had one common goal, to win the U.S. Open. We knew it would be very difficult but it could be done."
