Serena Williams fined $17K adding insult to sexist injury
Serena Williams already paid a hefty price for the events which transpired on court during the women's singles final of the U.S. Open.
But now, in addition to being issued point deductions and being forced to forfeit an entire game, she will now have to pay a fine of $17,000 for three code violations.
Since the match on Saturday night, the sport has found itself embroiled in a sexism row over the double standards at play when it comes to the difference in the way male and female players are penalised.
On Sunday, the United States Tennis Association said the tournament referee Brian Earley had ruled that Williams would be fined $4,000 for a coaching violation, $3,000 for racket abuse, and $10,000 for verbal abuse.
The CEO of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Steve Simon released a statement in Williams' favour, stating that the match had raised an important question. "Yesterday also brought to the forefront the question of whether different standards are applied to men and women in the officiating of matches," wrote Simon.
He added that the WTA believes there should not be a "difference in the standards of tolerance provided to the emotions expressed by men vs. women" and said that the organisation is "committed to working with the sport to ensure that all players are treated the same. We do not believe that this was done last night."
On Twitter, the outrage at this further penalisation was palpable.
Twitter user @AgentTinsley provided evidence of instances where male players had behaved in a similar way and faced no repercussions.
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Others stated that Williams was not just "robbed" in a figurative sense, but literally. "Like, actually robbed. Of actual money," wrote Catherine Frederick.
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Twitter user @Nicolejean said that Williams was not being fined for code violations but rather "for standing up for herself as a woman."
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Some called for Williams to pay her $17,000 fine in pennies.
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Not a bad idea, to be fair.
Topics Celebrities
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
