Serena Williams was fined during a match with Naomi Osaka for illegal coaching, racket abuse (she threw it in frustration) and verbally abusing a judge.
Tennis officials are making Serena Williams pay—literally—for standing up for herself on Saturday against a U. S. Open umpire.
The U. S. Tennis Association has handed the tennis great a $17,000 fine for her pointed conversation with umpire Carlos Ramos in which she politely informed him that she does not have to cheat to win and called him a “thief” for taking a point from her, the Washington Post and other news organizations are reporting.
Williams’ conversation with the official, which included a drop-the-mic moment as she finished what she had to say and strutted away, came amid an accusation that her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was giving her hand signals from the sidelines.
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The incident came as Williams lost to Naomi Osaka, a player of Haitian descent from Japan, prompting many on social media to note that Osaka’s win did not mark a loss for Williams, but rather a victory for all Black women tennis players.
