Serena Williams says her emotions got the best of her when she berated the chair umpire during her loss to Samantha Stosur in the US Open final.
Williams tweeted her explanation on Wednesday for verbally abusing chair umpire Eva Asderaki, saying “my emotions did get the best of me this past weekend”.
Facing a break point while serving in the first game of the second set on Sunday night, Williams hit a forehand that she celebrated with a yell of “Come on!” Asderaki applied the hindrance rule, noting the scream came while Stosur was reaching for a backhand. Asderaki awarded the point to Stosur.
That set Williams off on a series of insults directed at the official, reminiscent of her tirade on the same court two years ago.
The code violation drew a $2 000 fine on Monday. — Sapa-AP