The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Williams fined $17,000 for 3 violations in final
NEW YORK — Serena Williams was fined a total of $17,000 for three code violations during her loss to Naomi Osaka in the U.S. Open final on Saturday.
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 6-2, 6-4 victory on Saturday made her the first tennis player from Japan to win a Grand Slam singles title.
In the second set’s second game, Ramos warned Williams for getting coaching, which is against the rules in Grand Slam matches. She briefly disputed that ruling, saying cheating “is the one thing I’ve never done, ever” — although afterward, her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, acknowledged he was trying to send Williams a signal.
A few games later, Williams received another warning, this time for smashing her racket, and that second violation automatically cost her a point, leading to more arguing. Eventually, Williams called Ramos “a thief,” drawing the third violation for “verbal abuse” — and costing her a game, putting Osaka ahead 5-3.
“I have never cheated in my life!” Williams told Ramos. “You owe me an apology.”
Under Article III, Section P of the Grand Slam Rule Book, “verbal abuse” is defined as “a statement about an official, opponent, sponsor, spectator or other person that implies dishonesty or is derogatory, insulting or otherwise abusive.” The section says a player is subject to a fine up to $20,000 for each violation.
There are separate categories for coaching (“Communications of any kind, audible or visible, between a player and a coach may be construed as coaching”) and for abuse of rackets or equipment.
Osaka’s victory is not what will be remembered about the chaotic evening. With jeers bouncing off the arena’s closed roof, both players — the champion and the runner-up — wiped away tears during a trophy ceremony that was awkward for everyone involved.
“I just feel like I had a lot of emotions,” Osaka said, “so I had to kind of categorize what was which emotion.”
Williams whispered something to Osaka and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“I felt, at one point, bad, because I’m crying and she’s crying. You know, she just won. I’m not sure if they were happy tears or they were just sad tears, because of the moment. I felt like, ‘Wow, this isn’t how I felt when I won my first Grand Slam.’ I was like, ‘Wow, I definitely don’t want her to feel like that,’ ” said Williams, who missed last year’s U.S. Open because her daughter, Olympia, was born during the tournament. “Maybe it was the mom in me that was like, ‘Listen, we’ve got to pull ourselves together here.’ ”
This was the only the latest in a series of high-profile conflicts with match officials for Williams at Flushing Meadows, dating to 2004, when an incorrect call during a quarterfinal loss to Jennifer Capriati was cited as the main reason for the introduction of replay technology in tennis. Then came Williams’ infamous tirade after a foot fault in the 2009 semifinals against Kim Clijsters, and a to-do over a hindrance call in the 2011 final against Sam Stosur.