Serena Williams has been fined and given a suspended three-year ban from the US Open for her tirade at a line judge at Flushing Meadows.
The world number one verbally abused an official after a foot-fault call which gave Kim Clijsters a match point in their semi-final this year.
“I am thankful that we now have closure on the incident,” said Williams.
The 28-year-old will incur the ban if she commits any further “major offence” before the end of 2011. (more…)
A study commissioned by the USTA found that 30.1 million Americans laced up their tennis shoes and hit the court in 2009. That’s a 12.5 percent increase from 2008 and almost 25 percent more than in 2003, back when Roger Federer was just that guy with the ponytail.
The survey showed participation grew in all age groups under 50 and within all ethnic groups. The biggest increases were among Hispanics, with 32 percent more playing the game. Blacks had a 19 percent increase.
There were 7.1 million newcomers to the sport, a 19.5 percent increase from last year. Regular players, those playing between four and 20 times a year, increased 26 percent this year to 14.8 million. (more…)
Swiss superstar Roger Federer was slapped with a $1,500 fine by the United States Tennis Association for a heat of the battle argument with a US Open official.
Federer used a profanity when talking with the chair umpire during the final in New York on Sunday which he eventually lost to Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro.
Federer’s fine pales in comparison to Serena Williams who was docked $10,000 for threatening to shove a ball down the throat of a female line judge in an expletive-laden tirade in her final singles match.
Williams was also fined $500 for throwing her racquet. Tournament spokesman Chris Widmaier says there were a total of $31,500 in fines levied at the 2009 US Open.
Vera Zvonareva and Daniel Koellerer were fined the same amount as Federer for swearing.
Canadian doubles player Daniel Nestor was fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct directed at an unruly fan of his opponent who were cheering double faults.