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| Samantha Stosur and Serena Williams |
Williams collected $900,000 Sunday for her runner-up finish to Samantha Stosur in women’s singles. She also earned $500,000 for her first-place finish in the U.S. Open Series standings, which include other hardcourt events before the Open.
Earley, in a statement, said the fine was “consistent with similar offenses at Grand Slam events.” The statement also noted that Bill Babcock, the Grand Slam committee director, conducted an independent review, which determined that Williams’s conduct, “while verbally abusive, does not rise to the level of a major offense under the Grand Slam Code of Conduct.”
That last piece of review was of particular importance. It means Williams will not face additional discipline — either suspension from a future Grand Slam tournament, or an additional fine — for another “major offense” while she was serving a probationary period at Grand Slams.
Williams landed on Grand Slam probation for a similar confrontation at the United States Open in 2009. In that match, a semifinal against Kim Clijsters, Williams threatened a line judge who whistled her for a foot fault just before match point. Her tirade included profanity, which, in combination with an earlier behavior warning, cost Williams a point and, because of its timing, the match. For that incident, Williams was fined $82,500.
"You've just got to get over that mental hurdle and those battles in your own head during matches when things aren't going so well," Stosur said. "It's taken time. They're probably things I already knew, but for someone like Ruth to talk about it in a different way, say it in a different way, made me realise what needed to be done.
"Ruth has opened my mind up. She's made me realise certain things about myself. We touch base regularly and I've certainly learned a lot about myself as a player and person.
"They're not always nice conversations we have, the things we have to talk about and deal with, but at the end of the day it's all been for a reason.
"If there's been one turning point, I'd say it was that loss at Charleston. Ruth and I spoke a lot that night and it was one of the more difficult times I've been through because a lot of little things had to be addressed.
"I just wanted to sweep everything under the carpet. It's all worth it now. Sitting there after that first set, things come and go in your mind. You can't control your thoughts, but you can control what you do with them. I stuck to my guns."
Stosur's victory was phenomenal in scoreline and composure. She was dignified and dripping in Australian-ness. Her acceptance speech was humble and endearing, amounting to little more than a "thanks for having me" to the people of New York before she climbed into the grandstand a la Pat Cash at Wimbledon.
An American reporter enquired about the roll-up-your-sleeves psyche of Australian athletes compared with Williams's more . . . confrontational approach.
"We grow up being taught that whether you're playing tennis or whatever other sport, be respectful and friendly and nice to people," Stosur said. "In tennis nowadays, maybe that kind of gets lost. I think it's important you go out there and play between the lines and play a good match. That's the way I was always taught to play, go out there and have respect for every single opponent you play."
The surface at Melbourne Park is cut from a very similar cloth to Flushing Meadows'. A full-blown tilt at the Australian Open looms.
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