Serena Williams has been fined a combined $17,000 for her three code violations during the U.S. Open final — but it could have been a lot worse.
The tournament referee’s office Sunday docked Williams $10,000 for “verbal abuse” of chair umpire Carlos Ramos. A USTA source told The Post each violation could have been as high as $20,000 each, meaning her total tally had the potential to reach $60,000.
The other two infractions were $4,000 for the initial code violation for being warned about coaching and $3,000 for smashing her racket after having her serve broken in the second set. Those two fines were standard for those infractions, the source added.
The money comes out of the $1.85 million prize money as the runner-up. She would have snared $3.8 million had she rallied to beat Naomi Osaka in Saturday’s final, but she lost her cool and any chance in the second set.
Under Article III, Section P, “verbal abuse” is defined as “a statement about an official, opponent, sponsor, spectator or other person that implies dishonesty or is derogatory, insulting or otherwise abusive.”
The USTA didn’t seem much offended, however, by Serena’s act in which she carried on for a handful of games, haranguing the umpire, demanding apologies, calling him “a thief” and “liar” and threatening he would never officiate another match of hers again.
USTA chairwoman Katrina Adams released a statement Saturday night saying Williams actually showed “a great deal of class and sportsmanship” during the ceremony. She asked fans not to boo and let Osaka enjoy the moment, calling her “a true champion.” Adams added the ceremony “spoke volumes about who [Williams] is.”
Tennis legend Billie Jean King, whose name is on the Open facility, came to Williams’ defense, too, echoing sentiment that sexism was at work.
Ramos, the chair umpire, has a history of being a stickler. In 2017 at the French Open, Ramos flagged Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for time violations even before the Open’s new 25-second service clock.
At Wimbledon in July, Ramos gave Djokovic a code violation for slamming his racket into the ground. Ramos also called Nick Kyrgios for a code violation for yelling at a towel boy.
Though she seemed dead in the water and probably was not coming back, Williams got penalized a point and then a game by Ramos.
