Serena Williams has been handed $17,000 in fines for violations during her loss to Naomi Osaka at Saturday’s U.S. Open final.
The fines are for three code violations — $10,000 for verbally abusing the umpire, $4,000 for a coaching violation and $3,000 for throwing her racket to the ground in frustration and breaking it, The Associated Press reported Sunday.
The tournament referee’s office deducted the money from Williams’ $1.85 million runner-up check.
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The controversy erupted when chair umpire Carlos Ramos issued a warning to Williams after saying her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was violating the rules by giving her hand signals from the stands.
Williams approached Ramos and said: “This is unbelievable. Every time I play here, I have problems.”
The tennis legend added: “I don’t cheat. I didn’t get coaching. How can you say that?”
“I have never cheated in my life!” she told Ramos. “You owe me an apology.”
The umpire eventually penalized Williams a point and then an entire game.
Williams responded by calling him “a thief.”
Her coach later admitted in an interview that he was trying to send her a signal.
“I’m honest, I was coaching. I don’t think she looked at me, so that’s why she didn’t even think I was,” Mouratoglou told ESPN. “But I was, like 100 percent of the coaches in 100 percent of the matches, so we have to stop this hypocritical thing.”
At the post-match news conference, Williams accused Ramos of sexism.
“I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things. I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality,” she said. “For me to say ‘thief’ and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He’s never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief.’ It blows my mind.”
