Serena's Stature Puts Tennis in Bind

Serena Williams could get a permanent suspension from major championships for her threatening, f-bomb laced tirade against a line judge at the U.S. Open last week. That's what Bill Babcock, Executive Director of the International Tennis Federation, told Darren Cahill in an interview on ESPN the other day.

"Now, it's in my hands," Babcock said, "for an independent major offense investigation, which can lead to serious penalty."

Independent. Serious. Major. Permanent.

Sounds awfully BIG. But it's hot air. This is true: By coincidence, at the same time he said the word "serious" I started laughing out loud.

Williams has spent years acting as if she's bigger than the tour itself, and here's the thing ...

She is.

So what will they do next with her? The question is whether tennis' governing bodies have the nerve to hit the game's golden goose with a meaningful penalty.

So far, she was given the maximum on-site penalty, the worst she could get during the tournament. It was $10,000 for her tirade and $500 for smashing her racquet earlier in the match. As one emailer wrote to me, she has earrings that cost more than that.

The game's leaders are in an uncomfortable spot here. The issue has served to widen the divide between an already split fan base about Williams.

On one side, people are demanding major punishments, saying that no self-respecting sport would allow its athletes to get away with such threats. On the other side, people say the judge shouldn't have made the call, and Williams already has been fined and has apologized. Time to move on.

So what does tennis' governing bodies do now? Hit her hard and the pro-Serena people are outraged, and cries of racism increase. Don't do much, and those who think Williams gets preferential treatment are upset. Not to mention, it makes the sport look weaker than one of its players.

Which it is.


Fining her won't touch her; she has tons of money. Suspend her for the rest of the year, and that won't touch her, either, as she's not interested in trying at the non-majors.

That leaves suspending her from majors.

No. Chance. They won't even be able to suspend her for the Australian Open in January.

The phone call that will never be made is from a tennis official calling ESPN and saying, "Thanks for covering the event. Serena will not be there."

Tennis is completely beholden to TV. It does not have the confidence to stand on its own, so instead sells its soul.

We saw that clearly at the U.S. Open, where they throw away competitive fairness for CBS, forcing the men to play best-of-five set matches on consecutive days in the semis and finals. That happens nowhere else, and potentially can be like running marathons on back-to-back days.

Rafael Nadal complained about it. But bigger than Nadal is CBS.

Now back to the Australian. What kind of ratings do you think it would get in the U.S. without Serena Williams?

In 1995, Jeff Tarango walked off in the middle of a match at Wimbledon, complaining that the chair ump was corrupt. His wife later slapped the ump. Tarango was banned from two majors, including the following year's Wimbledon.

But that's Jeff Tarango. Williams will not get a similar penalty, and be held out of next year's U.S. Open. Tennis would risk Nadal's bad knees to make CBS happy at the Open. It will not dump Williams.

How odd this talk is about a lengthy investigation. The evidence is all right there on tape. Williams said she would take the (deleted) ball and stuff it down the judge's (deleted) throat. She used her trademark "You don't know me," line, the same line she used in threatening a player earlier in the year.

In the press conference afterward, Williams said she didn't know why the judge would have felt threatened.

So what's the delay? It's in trying to find some penalty that looks tough to some, and not tough to others, all the while making sure TV people are happy.

Williams' tirade was worse than anything John McEnroe ever did. But he was kicked out of the Australian Open, mid-tournament, in 1990. A few years earlier, he was suspended for two months after his behavior at the U.S. Open.

As bad as Williams' tirade was, to me it wasn't as bad as some are suggesting. To hear the outcry, I wouldn't be surprised if someone suggested cutting off her feet so she can't foot fault anymore.

But after humiliating a line judge who had made a correct call, it took Williams two days just to apologize.

Fine her $250,000. It's about half the max she can be fined. She won't feel it, but it's a big number and looks good. Suspend her for two months, the way they did with McEnroe. That's also more of a PR thing, because she won't care about missing regular tournaments.

But don't talk big about a ban from majors. It's too much, and you'll never get permission from ESPN, CBS or Serena, anyway.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com