I HEARD SHE HAD A POINT PENALTY ON MATCH POINT???

she didnt default at all!!!

yea it was a point penalty. shame, innit? a disappointing ending to a fabulous match.

What a surprise. I was wondering if TT would write a piece on this than I thought - no, not women's tennis. LOL, Cheryl thought the same.

If she foot faulted, I would have thought it's similar to missing a 2nd serve (sort of) and giving away match pt. Difficult one. Well, poor Kim, she deserved the win but what a way to 'spoil' the glory. As I was going for Kim, am not sorry SW lost. The woman has a temper. And threatenining the line judge like that is unacceptable.

Serena's reaction cannot be excused, but it's the rules that are in qustion here. How can a nebulous thing like foot fault be up to a lay person, ie lines judge, who is standing behind the player and is in no position to see if the player's foot crossed the line. There are so many ridiculous rules like this, such as let in serving. There was an occasion when Djokovic was serving and the bleep on the net went off even before he hit the ball, it was called let anyway, when the bleep could so easily have been set of by the wind. On another occasion, when Nadal was playing Murray at Indian Wells, a piece of paper flew accross the court, Murray lost that point asked the umpire to play a let but he decided he hadn't seen the piece of paper so he wouldn't call it, but called a let later on in the match for the same thing, this time he said he had seen it.

The players have the opportunity to challenge a line call but not a foot fault - crazy. Foot fault is up to the wimp of the line judge!

Don't appreciate Rafa being implicated in this blog, why bring that up? Other players have their faults too.

yeah, i agree with carrie. don't see why rafa needed to be mentioned. nole does it too. the commentators counted 17 ball bounces for him the other day before he served.

Cheryl, did Serena *really* foot-fault though? I saw the replays and slow-motions and I dunno, I couldn't really tell.

But the match just ended so badly with foot faults and code violations and penalty points. It almost took away how brilliantly Kim was playing, because it would be remembered that she won because Serena mentally and physically imploded not because Kim out-played her opponent which she did.

It's questionable though whether to call a foot-fault or not at whatever particular time. If it's a violation, it's a violation. Linesjudge has the duty to call it be it match point or a uber important point (Safin v Fed at AO this year)...but yeah I have mixed feelings about it.

News report from the match on the USO website says that Serena admitted 20 mins later that mostly she foot faulted so she thinks she did anyway.

Linespeople calling foot fault and in this case are sitting to the side, they are not behind the player where of course they won't be able to see. I've never seen a line judge behind a player call a foot fault. They check whether a serve is out, they don't look for foot faults.

jean, I think the linejudge that called on Safin's foot fault in his match against the Fed this year during AO is standing behind him. Couldn't find a vid on Youtube that showed it (used to be one) but I definitely remember Safin turning around and yelling at him...you're right though, how can he see properly if he's behind a player?

vrael - she did actually default. That's what the point penalty means - she didn't finish out the match playing, therefore she defaulted.

Carrie and Sib - I brought up Rafa because he's the most obvious offender of that rule. And my point was that while he might get busted from time to time, no chair umpire in the world would begrudge him a little extra time on a big point. No need to get terribly offended.

Jyannis - I couldn't tell from the camera angle one way or another, actually. And the point is moot anyway. She lost because she threatened that lines-woman.

ok cheryl....if a point penalty on a match point is defaulting then serena did default........i thought that "default" meant somthin else!!!

I should clarify that a point penalty ON match point means a default. Not ALL point penalties are defaults. LOL.

It was an inane call by the lines person ... I can understand why Serena lost it. She has always been a bit of a sore loser and she was about to lose the match (as far as I was concerned), and so she let loose. It wasn't pretty, in fact it was somewhat offensive, but let's face it had this been a men's match it probably wouldn't have created as much press. Hilarious, when she mentioned J. Mac. during the press conference as one of her idols and then McEnroe was all ... I don't know why she mentioned me ... what did I do?
But Cheryl your right, I thought Kim played courageously and had looked good all tournament. It was great to see her get the win ... I hope she goes all the way.

cheryl, are you saying that Rafa foot faults all the time , because that is the rule under discussion here. Players violate the rules all the time by swearing, smashing their racquets, arguing with the umpire etc. By highighting Rafa's time-keeping here, you are almost suggesting that he should have been defaulted many times, that's hardly fair. After all Federer shouted at member's of the public, when he told the Djokovics to shut up, he didn't fet a warning for that.

carrie: i think cheryl is saying that is someone gets foot faulted at such a crucial stage in a match, then why don't other players get cautioned for things like time violations at crucial stages? she's not saying rafa should have been defaulted many times, she's just highlighting that at crucial points in matches all rules should apply. not that one can't foot fault, but one can take too long to serve

carrie, as a Rafa fan myself, even I admit that as far as pushing the limits on time of serve, Rafa is the most guilty of that than others. Cheryl even stated when she mentioned Rafa's name that it was to the time-serve rule ("But there is also a rule about how much time a player is permitted to serve the ball *coughNadalcough*). You complain that she brought Rafa's name up, even though she was talking about rules in tennis, yet you continue to talk about Rafa breaking the rules?

There are others that break the rules in tennis (most are here and there, not every match) but it is still up to the chair umpire to issue the warning or point penalty. If they don't, there isn't much you can do. I watched last night and Serena's behavior was too over the top to be ignored by ANYONE and she deserved what she got. They kept saying that they would show the video on replay but would cut the audio because there was so much profanity. That tells you something right there!

Sibb, Cheryl did not say 'other players' she named Nadal. I'm saying he is not the only one who comits violation, and by naming him, it blemishes him not anyone else.

Shouted? fed just said ' Be quiet'. That was far from being a shout

I was rooting for Kim, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over her not getting to finish a semifinal match off in legitimate fashion. This isnt a Grand Slam final. She still has her chance for the moment that actually matters: winning match point in the title match.

This doesnt even compare to Justine Henin retiring to deprive Mauresmo of the moment when she won her first Grand Slam.

I think it needs to be clarified that Serena was not defaulted in any way shape or form.

She lost the last point of the match due to a point penalty.

Tournament director Brian Earley stated that it was a default. Argue with him, Ricky.

ok, but i think the only reason rafa was mentioned is because he's the one who seems to be slowest between points. plus the sentence would have had quite the same impact if she'd reeled off five or six names

Carrie, let's call a spade a spade here. Saying that Rafa takes too long between points does not blemish him, because everyone KNOWS he does it. Go ahead and deny it. Besides that, I think you are deliberately missing my point. I said that those sorts of things SHOULDN'T be called at crucial times in the match. And I used Rafa's name only, because he is by far the biggest abuser of the time rule.

Relax.

regarding the Serena's case, I agree with you cheryl. That was the most annoying thing a tennis player could be punished when you are in a crucial point. And Serena didn't even foot-faulted.

Is it true there is a chance Serena could be suspended from playing the doubles match?

Torres, even if it had been "close", that lineswoman shouldn't have called it. And now we know that it was NOT a foot fault, it makes everything worse.

That being said, there is no defense for what Serena did. That was WAY over the line. I heard what she said and it was pretty vile.

smr - there is indeed a chance that Serena could be suspended from doubles. The decision is up to the tournament officials.

Apparently, due to the nature of the "threats" there is going to be a further investigation into the incident that will most probably result in a very heavy fine for Serena.

Personally, I doubt highly if she's going to be dq'd from doubles. She's American, and this is the US Open. She'll play.

Serena Williams got exactly what she deserved Saturday night in the semifinals of the U.S. Open, which means she got defaulted out of her match and out of a chance to repeat as Open champion and got shown the door.

"I'm just trying to move on," she said later in the interview room, in a ridiculous, disingenuous performance.

She moves on all right, to her next tournament. And to her next major, the Australian Open in January.

Williams cursed out a lineswoman all over the place after being called for a foot fault that gave Kim Clijsters two match points against her. Williams used the F-word more than once and came at the woman more than once and clearly forgot that getting called for unsportsmanlike conduct - which this was in lights - got her a point penalty because she had already been called for smashing her racket at the end of the first set.

She got the point penalty. On match point. Game, set, match.

This all should have gone out of tennis a long time ago, when John McEnroe, clearly unaware of new code-conduct rules at the start of the 1990 Australian Open, thought he knew how much room he had, how many steps there were before he got defaulted. And was wrong. At least he admitted to being wrong when it was over in 1990.

This was a shameful performance on the part of a defending champion, especially in these circumstances. And anybody who makes this about the foot fault being called at 15-30 and 5-6, match game, is not just missing match point, they are missing the whole point. Rules are rules, even for the biggest stars.

I was watching on television when it happened. I saw what everybody watching on television saw after it happened. Take a look at Williams on the replay. Look at the way she goes at the lineswoman. Why? Because the woman wasn't supposed to be making this kind of call, not against her, Serena Williams. So she keeps going at her. Already what she said and the language she used is on its way to being an instant YouTube classic.

You get booted from baseball games and basketball games when you talk to officials this way. Serena Williams got booted from the semis of the Open. She was like the player in basketball who forgets that there was a double technical called on him early in the game and the next technical means he's gone. Well, she's gone.

The lineswoman didn't do this to her. She did it to herself. Shame on her. If she didn't understand the consequences, tough. And as for one call costing her the match? How did she get to 4-6, 5-6, 15-30 in the first place?

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/09/13/2009-09-13_un like_derek_jeter_mariano_riveras_greatness_cant_be_tied_to_a_number.ht ml

this is the link. I think Serena just lost it but Marat did it a couple of times too but did not get defaulted. maybe Marat was cursing in Russian. I think this thing should be consistently done. Maybe they can put sensors on the baseline so that if the foot touches it, a light will appear or whateva.

the difference, torres, is that Marat most often vented his spleen at the chair umpire. They are the "boss" out on the court, so they are the ones that are supposed to hear players' complaints. Serena knew it was a no-no to lay into a linesperson - much less threaten her.

cheryl, all I was saying was as Serena's incident was not to do with time keeping, there was no need to mention Rafa by name to illustrate your point.

Anyway, I don't think you intended to be unfair to Rafa.

Ok, so if Serena threatened the chair umpire, she wouldn't have been defaulted?

I never said Serena's incident had to do with timekeeping - but I WAS illustrating a point about "the rules" and how they should be applied, and the time violation was the most obvious example. Sorry if you didn't like it.

torres - nope, she still would have in this instance. Threatening to shove a ball down an official's f'ing throat would surely qualify as unsportsman-like conduct no matter who you said it to.

I was simply pointing out that players get a little more leeway with the chair umpire. Serena HAD to have known that going after a linesperson would result in a code violation.

In the U.S. Serena will be lucky if that lady does not press charges for threatening her. She'd probably get a nice settlement. Serena should be suspended for 1 year and ordered to take anger management classes. She never even showed any remorse or apologised. Mary Carillo said she should be suspended to uphold the integrity of the game. She better not plan on going to any part of Asia soon.

Ricky it seems you are correct!

SERENA'S CODE VIOLATION HANDS CLIJTER'S FINALS SPOT

Having already received a warning earlier in the match for smashing a racket, Williams was handed an automatic point penalty for a second violation which gave Clijsters the match.

"It was not a default, it was a point penalty that happened to be on match point. She had had an earlier warning for racket abuse," tournament referee Brian Earley told reporters.

"She was called for a foot fault ... and she said something to a line umpire and it was reported to the chair and that resulted in a point penalty."

Earley would not go into what Williams said, adding only: "It was a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct."

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2009/09/13/125278021297 7.html

carrie ...rafa is the most notorious time waster on court ...you cant deny this. CM was not being down on rafa but being blunt ....read the article again ...and again and again ...till you understand it ....its about the rules and the application of it

C'MON !!
USO09...where we celebrate our sweet 16th !!

I am glad to find that you commented on this subject CM because i just wanted to add my 2-cents.

Serena's true colors came out! she is GETTO!

She is an embarrassment to the Afro-Americans.She knows not to act like that .

try and keep herself together No matter what,Foot fault or not.Suck it up and get on with the game.

Where did she think she was...At a club.

And the bad thing about it is that she did not even apologize in the presser...sad!

No class!

She has ruined her reputation and it is very sad.

Changing the subject only slightly: When was the last time anyone went through BOTH Williamses to win a Slam? I have to think Henin did it, but I don't honestly know if anyone has.

<Pokes around a bit on Net>

Yup, Henin was the last one at the 2007 Open. The only other one was Hartina Hingis at the Aussie in 2001.

Jean - thanks for the information. Mr. Earley, it seems, changed his tune, because on Saturday he said they considered it a default.

SenorPlaid - interesting tidbit. Venus, of course, was hobbled, but nobody can deny that Clijsters was on fire.

Cheryl, I didn't want to turn this into sniping at the women's game, but what does it say when someone can be off for 2 years, plays six prelims with pedestrian results and then suddenly rip through the field to win a Slam? Is it more an indictment of the current state of women's tennis, more a tribute to Clijsters' ability or a bit of both? My take is both in that I don't see, say, Amelie Mauresmo pulling off something like this.

But I also don't see anyone on the men's side who could pull off the same feat, including Federer or Nadal.

SP, there is something close to it in the men's game, when Ivanesevic won Wimbledon:

Ivani?evi? finished runner-up in the French Open men's doubles in 1999 (with Jeff Tarango). However for much of 1999, 2000, and 2001, he struggled with a shoulder injury and his performance and world ranking began to slide steadily.

By the summer of 2001, Ivani?evi? was ranked the World No. 125. This was not sufficient to earn him an automatic place in the main draw at Wimbledon but, given his past record as a three-time runner-up, he was awarded a wildcard for entry into the singles draw. He defeated former and future World #1 players Carlos Moya, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin to reach the semi-final, beating home favourite Tim Henman in a five set, rain-affected semi-final, setting-up a match with the previous year's runner-up and former US Open champion Patrick Rafter. It was Ivani?evi?'s first singles final since 1998. In a match lasting just over three hours, Ivani?evi? defeated Rafter 6?3, 3?6, 6?3, 2?6, 9?7. Two months shy of his 30th birthday, Ivani?evi? became the lowest-ranked player and the first wildcard entry to win Wimbledon.[4] To date, he is the only male entrant to have won a Grand Slam as a wildcard. His Wimbledon success was rated sixteenth at the list of 100 Greatest Sporting Moments by a British television programme.

Well, Ivanisevic still was playing a bit during those injury years, but your point is well-taken, carrie, and I sit corrected.

Considering how I was going as nuts watching on TV as the fans at SW19 were that Monday, I can't believe I forgot about Ivanisevic's completely improbable run.

Carrie, that's a good example, the difference as SenorPlaid pointed out, that he was still playing at the time (or trying to, anyway). Clijsters was out of tennis completely. I sometimes wonder if she didn't look at the inconsistencies with Ivanovic, Jankovic and the like and think to herself "geez. if I were playing, I think I'd still be winning".

Clijsters is a force, but there is no way she'd have been able to make this comeback when Venus, Serena and Justine were at the height of their power.

CM:) she came and got her 1.6 million.So i guess justine is thinking the same thing. Since from what i hear she is in training.

I agree that it's not the same situation, for one thing, Kim had switched off competitive tennis, and Ivanesevic was still competing, and aspiring. It's not that the girls she beat were that bad, it just miraculous how quickly she got rid of the rust.

alik, I was thinking the same thing. If henin came back tomorrow, she'd be No. 1 by the time the French rolled around.

you can better believe that Justine is thinking the same thing. Heck, if I were her, I'd come back NOW. Even without playing, she could probably get to the second week of tournaments. I'm not trying to be disrespectful to the women's game either. She's just that good and she probably never should have retired in the first place.

Congrats to Kim. I'm very happy that she came through against Serena, who doesn't give her opponents any respect. Pity about the way it ended. Perhaps her return will help to stabilize women's tennis.

well there are some rumours that Justine may be back, however that one I doubt.

Serena, on the other hand. To act like she did, threaten a line person, swear and get away with a 10k fine is the most ridiculous thing ever! Lets be honest, if she was anyone else but Serena, and of any other nationality and at an any other tournament apart from US, a fine would have been a lot more substantia. I do understand 10k is a max a player can be penalised, but to place things in perspective, to her it;s probably like a large dinner bill.

She should be more severly punished and some form of suspension imposed. From memory a young unknown Aussie player, i think Kline, he is somewhere in the 100s is now serving a 6mths suspension for racial abuse on court. I think it was over what he said to another player. Serena threatens an official and gets away!! Ridiculous! The governing bodies of this sport are a sham!

How about dishing some even justice and suspending her....

what absolute rubbish, 10k to serena is like a large dinner bill.

If it was anyone else but her, of any other nationality playing anywhere but :"home" penalties would be much greater! She needs to be suspended for such horrendus behaviour.

An example, a young aussie player (Klein) is ranked somewhere in high 100s, got suspended for 6 mths for racial abuse on court. serena threatens and official and gets an absolute slap on a wrist...

The governing bodies of WTA are a sham!

so sorry, for 2 same posts ;-)

bianca, you can't really expect the same treatment of players who are related to uncle sam, can you?

This sort of warped "justice" makes me soo mad! It is quite obvious not all players are equally treated!

bianca or anyone, was there any racial slur from serena? i couldn't hear any but couldn't hear the whole properly anyway.

klein didn't just get a suspension, he initially got slapped with a 30-32,000 fine but it got reduced to something like 2,000 when he agreed to attend racial sensitive classes. his was heard clearly though, calling a sth african a f'ing kaffir and the whole team heard it. don't know what he was thinking!!!

homos, .there wasn't any, from my understanding and what the media reported she swore and told the lines woman that she would "shove the ball down the f***ing throat" and also said something else...

On the other hand klein, lost his scholarship, coaching ect (punishment by Tennis Australia) and copped a 6mths suspension...for a player in top 200, harsh punishment! serena's is ludicrous! it's not even a slap on the wrist!

racial slur vs a direct

hhmm yeah diffult to understand, maybe officials got pretty immune after JMc's antics set a precedence over so many yrs, tho he never said he wanted to kill anyone or shove a ball down their larynx - tho i'm sure he wanted to!

well, serena will just have to eat at home for one night!!!

bianca,Serena did not use any racial words at the umpire.

She said,while waving her racket at her..."i swear fo god..i will take this tennis ball and shove it down you f----g throat"
which was very bad but no racial words were used..thank god:)

alik, what is worse or does it even matter? a direct threat vs a racial slur? one gets a 6mth suspension from ATP the other a slap on the pinky finger (not even a wrist)..

bianca, i can't help but think a racial slur is one step wrose than a threat. for e.g. if serena went further and said something about the lineswoman's japanese background. i'd end up thinking "gee, it was bad enough threatening her but attacking her race..!!" with klein, tennis australia decided on their own accord to lay extra punishment on him (pulling their scholarship, etc) on top of whatever atp decided (suspension). i think also they thought they'd better teach him while he was still 'young' (tho not very). so it's up to usta whether they want to add additional finger tapping on serena.

I tend to agree with homos. Plus I think I read somewhere that the fine given to Serena was the max they could give. It is up to the USTA to do anything more but I believe that Serena has lost some fans for sure for her actions too.

Serena needs to be punished by sitting out a major. (and I believe the lineswoman was from Sweden, even though she probably does have Japanese heritage).

ya the fine for serena was the max - $10,000. the extra $500 was for racket abuse. but it's pretty relative. if it was a player who usually plays on the challengers, such a maximum fine would surely be painful but we tend to judge serena's wealth and see it as an insufficient tap on the finger. it's not her fault she's done well and the rule book as to be laid out to apply to all. lucky serena!

i take that back, it is her fault she's done well :), just shouldn't be blamed for having made so much money. not her fault the monetary punishment is relatively 'small'.

Now Justin Heninis planning a comeback!

Yup. AP story confirms it; she'll be back in time for the AO (and back on top by the end of the year). It'll be nice again to see a women's match that isn't determined just by unforced errors.

And anyone who doesn't think that Henin's return won't completely recharge the women's game, go over to the YouTube and watch all three parts of the highlights of Henin-Capriati at the 2003 Open. Here's what you'll see: offensive strategy, spin and angles, rushing the net (True!), winners and guts galore but very little of the doot ... doot ... doot ... pong-like stand-and-slug-the-ball-as-hard-as-you-can-until someone-hits-it-into-the-net shriekfests that have become all too common in the women's game.

Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), I'm geeked by this news.

This news is hardly surprising and Clijters win must surely be a catalyst. It should make for a much more interesting WTA tour next year. Perhaps the Belgian girls will show Serena, who the real number 1 is.

I could not be less excited than I am about Henin's comeback.

i want wozniaki to win a slam next year! is that asking too much? does she have it? was uso a fluke? hope not. she's youngest in the top ten, no? seems to be handling the pressure alright.

sorry off topic :P

RickyDimon = killjoy

Or do you just prefer the doot ... doot ... doot ... pong-like stand-and-slug-the-ball-as-hard-as-you-can-until someone-hits-it-into-the-net shriekfests that have become all too common in the women's game?

Ricky , Henin's return had me buzzing with happiness all day . Having that single handed backhand on the retirement bench was a waste to the tennis world ....the backhand is back now and i cant wait to see her back in action .

Wassup Ricky , rather dark these days aren't we ?

C'MON !!

Should Martina N and Steffi make a comeback? How about Billie-Jean King and Sue Barker, maybe Virginia Wade and Chris Evert could consider it.

Who knows, Sampras might even want to come back and reclaim his record from Federer.

so...nobody commenting on Henins comeback? Im hoping this will spice up women tournament now that Clijsters is back too xD

Serena Williams treated for embolism


NEW YORK -- Tennis star Serena Williams underwent "emergency treatment" Monday, days after doctors discovered a blood clot in her lungs, People magazine reported.

Spokeswoman Nicole Chabot told the magazine that Williams "underwent emergency treatment for a hematoma suffered as a result of treatment for a more critical situation."

Williams suffered from a pulmonary embolism last week, Chabot said. The 29-year-old Williams is being treated at a Los Angeles hospital.

"Doctors are continuing to monitor her situation closely to avoid additional complications," Chabot told the magazine.

The winner of 13 Grand Slam titles, Williams attended Sunday night's Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party.

On Tuesday night, Williams posted on her Twitter account "Tough day." A few minutes later she retweeted Kim Kardashian.

Williams has been sidelined by two operations on her right foot after getting cut by glass at a restaurant, and has not played a competitive match since winning Wimbledon on July 3.

Chabot also told the magazine that the embolism was discovered after she returned to Los Angeles from New York "for doctor appointments for the ongoing issues with her foot."


http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=6173 737

nadline: that's awful! She is one of my favourite players. I wish her a complete recovery. :(

I just heard about this on tv! I sincerely hope that Serena recovers and returns to tennis very soon.

Thanks, nadline for updating everyone on Serena's condition.

Get well soon, Serena!

Poor Serena, injury plus illness, one after another. I think she'll miss the FO, not sure about Wimbledon. Hope she has a speedy recovery.

Nadline: Thanks for this info on Serena -- I would n ot have known had you not posted it. I wish her a speedy recovery.

She's one of my faves on the WTA, which has not been the same without her playing. Both serena and sharapova bring a lot of presence to the court. I hope she gets better soon, but a lung hematoma is a very dangerous ailment for an athlete as it impairs breathing, coupled with the fact that she will have to take blood thinners for maybe the rest of her life. Lung hematomas cause scarring, and weakens the lung. Serena's the second person I know of that's had surgery on the leg and has developed a lung clot.

BTW, tonight Home shopping club was airing some of her merchandise on sale. She has a very good eye for fashion. That, coupled with her star power, makes for good sales for HSN.