Serena Williams, the #2 seed, earned a code violation and a $10,000 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct late Saturday night to end her U.S. Open run. It occurred in a match with unseeded Kim Clijsters, when Williams was called for a foot fault violation by the line judge at 10:52 p.m. on her second serve to go match point down.
The cameras show that she shouted something at the official. What did Serena Williams say? One report indicates she said, “I would kill you.” Our friends at Huffington Post are reporting that it was, “If I could, I would take this f… ball and shove it down your f…. throat.” Whatever it was, Serena wasn’t willing to share it during her post-play press conference – see below.
As seen in the video footage, the line judge trotted over to the line chair to report the incident. The decision was made to assess a code violation and a match penalty, giving Kim Clijsters a 6-4, 7-5 victory. An investigation has been opened to determine if Williams’ conduct should be considered a major offense, which could carry additional sanctions.
This would be Williams second infraction of the evening–she was previously called for smacking a racket and was fined $500. Williams earned $350,000 in prize money for making it into the semi-final match. She will play in the Women’s Doubles finals with her sister Venus Williams on Monday.
The unseeded Clijsters will go up against #9 seed Caroline Wozniacki on Sunday night for the Women’s Singles championship. PHOTOS HERE.
View incident video and a post game press conference with Serena Williams below.
Violation video
Serena Williams news conference