Slamming the “double standards” in tennis, Serena Williams says she “would certainly be in jail” for doing…
Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, stated that she would have been punished far more severely if she had acted in a manner akin to that of German player Alexander Zverev, who was disqualified from a competition last month for acting in an unsportsmanlike manner.
After losing a doubles match, the world No. 3 player repeatedly smashed his racket against the chair of the umpire, earning him a trip to the ATP 500 event in Acapulco.
“If I did it, I would probably be in jail—this is not even a joke.”
“I was actually on probation once,” she continued, laughing, but when Amanpour questioned her about the incident, she politely declined to talk more.
Williams was fined $175,000 and put on two years of probation by the Grand Slam committee in 2009 for engaging in “serious offence of aggravating behavior” during her U.S. Open semifinal match against eventual champion Kim Clijsters.
After being called for a foot fault on a second serve at 15-30, 5-6 in the second set after losing the first, the American got into an argument with a line judge.
You see the double standard when you observe other events on the trip and think, “Wait, what if I had done that? “Hmm,” Williams remarked.
However, it is alright. In the end, I love who I am and I am who I am.
