Most of us would love for the Serena Williams US Open controversy to go away. As Venus Williams said during the doubles trophy ceremony: “Let’s move on.” And with Serena just one match away from taking the No. 1 ranking from Dinara Safina at the China Open, it appears Serena is moving in the right direction.
But the ITF is winding up its official investigation into the incident, and the story is heating up rather than going cold. Neil Harman of the London Times explained the investigation process in this piece, saying that the lineswoman, the umpire, the tournament referee and the WTA Tour supervisor have all given their versions of the event and now it’s Serena’s turn to talk. Depending on how things turn out, Serena could be off the hook, or she could be facing harsh fines and a ban from one or more Major tournaments.
Here’s Serena’s take from Sunday’s press conference in Beijing:
Q: Are you concerned about potential further punishment from the WTA or ITF?
A: I know there’s talk of investigation, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment while the case is still going on, it is what it is, I am really excited to be a tennis player. I obviously have such an amazing passion- it’s enabled me to have 20-something grand slam titles. I love fighting for every point, for everything.
But Matt Cronin of TennisReporters.net, says that there’s a wrinkle in the case:
Two additional things though: one, there are more “official” folks who aren’t listed in the (Harman) piece who were close enough to catch what Serena said AND apparently, there’s a rumor floating around that Serena said something far worse to the lineswoman that hasn’t been reported yet. She appears to be in deep trouble. Stay tuned.
There are rumors and there are rumors. Matt Cronin tends to get his rumors from the source and not from the internet. So this is troubling news, no matter what the truth is – we’re either looking at a witch hunt or some very disappointing behavior from the top player in the world.
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