Filed under: Golf & Tennis, Women's Sports 
Do you remember Serena Williams outburst back in September? During the U.S. Open, Williams was called for a foot fault and then cursed out the line judge, which ultimately caused Williams to lose the semi-final match to Kim Clijsters. Well, Grand Slam administrator Bill Babcock won't forget and gave his judgment on Serena's punishment on Monday.
Babcock announced that Williams will be fined $82,000 for her tirade and put on a two-year probationary period. If Serena has another outburst or major offense at any Grand Slam Tournament, she will be barred from the next U.S. Open and fined $175,000.
Babcock told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from London, "...if she does not have another offense in the next two years, the suspension [will be] lifted."
The fine is the highest any professional tennis player has ever received. The previous highest fine was $48,000 against Jeff Tarango in the 1990s. Williams was already fined $10,000 from the U.S. Tennis Association shortly after the incident, which is the highest the organization could fine a player on site.
There are a total of four Grand Slam tournaments that Williams must be on her best behavior for over the next two years: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. The Australian Open is the next tournament on the schedule and occurs January 18-31, 2010. Williams has yet to respond to the judgment.
Even though the fines may seem steep, it's not like Serena can't afford the fine. For making the U.S. Open semi-finals, she earned a nice $350,000. Still, is the punishment too harsh? Serena has thrown tantrums before: screaming, yelling, throwing and breaking rackets and she's lost points and has been fined for those. She has never threatened an official, though.
If an athlete in the NBA or NFL were to threaten an official, they could be suspended for an entire season and lose out on millions in salary. So in comparison, the punishment is light, especially since she isn't suspended from any upcoming tournaments. We think Serena will be on her best behavior from here on out.
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