9.13.2009

line judge feels the wrath of serena williams


Yikes. The big news out of the U.S. Open this weekend... Defending champion Serena Williams was charged with a point penalty on match point after yelling at -- no, verbally abusing -- a line judge for calling a foot fault on her previous serve. The ruling gave Kim Clijsters a 6-4, 7-5 victory in their semifinal match: Serena Williams berates official, loses match for conduct violation.

I'm bringing this up because the lineswoman, as you can see from the photo above, is Asian. (The USTA apparently isn't releasing her name.) The whole thing sucks, because as many observers have noted, the replays clearly show the call was wrong -- there was no foot fault.

That said, Williams should not have lost her cool. This was an awful call, in a semifinal match, no less. She had every right to be angry, but there's no justifiable reason for any professional athlete to tell an official, "I swear to God, I'll f--- take this ball and shove it down your f---- throat." That's classy, Serena.

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