WTA Tour says player withdrawals down by 1 third

the call was bogus, now if serena is suspended then the lineperson should be suspended also, and the one that called 7 foot faults on venus, each time vee hit a winner it suddenly became a fault, a foot fault should be called immediately not after you win the point, just to have it taken away, the wta is suppose to have some sort of system next year to protect the players from bogus calls next year. now i am not a violent person, but right is right, if serena is suspended, then the wta must take the blame themselves, nobody like to be cheated, espically during big matches, where you have to train and prepare, ppl should either let this die or every infratcion should be called into play from every player, both men and women, i watch tennis a lot, and there;s lots of them, unless it involves serena or venus it treated as a joke.

MJ: I don't understand why you and others are so hot to make an example of Serena Williams by calling for her suspension. While I agree that Serena was absolutely wrong -- and I was there when it happened -- I don't think it warrants a suspension. She paid a $10,000 fine, apologized numerous times, both publicly and privately, and has had to endure the same questions over and over again regarding the incident.

I've seen plenty of bad behavior from tennis players with less consequences, and I've seen the men get away with a lot worse. For instance, Marat Safin should be flat broke for paying fines for racket and officiating abuse. In a tournament earlier this year, he called the chair umpire a f&*ing d!ck head, told him he didn't know what he's talking about, and then insulted the tournament director on court in front of the crowd. All he got was a laugh and a wave of the hand. If there were any other consequences, nothing was ever talked about.

And you're probably right, WTA members might cast their vote to have Serena suspended but not because of her bad behavior but because they would have a better chance of winning the Australian Open, assuming that's the tourney from which she's suspended.

Plenty of women have exhibited bad behavior on the courts without the burden of having people call for continued public humiliation (Maria Martinez Sanchez cheated. She knew the ball hit her. Justine Henin cheated. She knew that she called time and then wouldn't acknowledge it. Horrible officiating in the 2006 U.S. Open led to the use of replay, just to name a few instances. And all these infractions were instances where these people cheated Serena. Where there any fines? Investigations? Media frenzies? I doubt it) . And again, the men get away with offensive behavior all the time. When Federer was cursing the chair umpire during the 2009 U.S. Open, Dick Enberg who was one of the commentators for the match, dismissed Federer's foul language as not being "venemous" and Mary Carillo called out Enberg, by pointing out that "he's cussing". Federer was fined $5,000.

In this instance, I think a lot of the outcry against Serena is sexist -- that it's okay for men to behave a certain way, but women should just be cute in their little tennis skirts, always be in control of their emotions and always be delicate, dainty and lady-like. If you are passionate, have a competitive spirit, are In the heat of battle, and have been cheated numerous times, emotions are bound to take over and that's probably what happened at the U.S. Open. Both foot faults were called at really critical times in the match and I could see, in light of the history of cheats and bad calls, why Serena would be angry.

Why can't you just let it go and be satisfied that so much has been made of this incident that it will likely not happen again? If it does, then a suspension might be warranted -- as long as EVERYONE is being held to the same standard. I was there. I paid good money for my ticket and waited for two days in the rain and cold to see that semi-final. I would have loved to have seen it played down to the final point because we have all seen Serena come back from the dead in a match that seemed hopelessly lost. It didn't happen and by the time I got home I was over it. I'm sure you've been less than perfect in your life and have been forgiven for an ugly moment or two. Why not play it forward?

@112 - cora

I had my celebrating during the week, because I new Serena was going to win the trophy. I did not watch the match, because I was at the gym. But thanks for asking. I wish all the players a speedy recovery for 2010, they all need a well deserved break.

"Serena does NOT have a history of this type of behavior, and this outburst is not at all typical for her, as even her harshest critics will attest."... everyone starts off with "no history".... if this incident was off the tennis court, you bet ya she'd be in more trouble than that 10k fine.

The "no history" statement is what you use to determine how lenient if at all you are on the consequences/punishment. It does not excuse the behavior which is exactly what posters use the "no history" comment for. It's the equivalent of saying "It's okay Serena we understand you only did it this once and you've never act this way. Plus that foolish line judge deserves it for you to act this way"... I hope no one really thinks like this...

While I don't think you do or can do anything further to Serena on this issue (despite that she'd fully deserve it), you simply can't retroactivate a new ruleset (well they could I guess, but shouldn't do so). However, you definately go and get a new rule instituted to prevent this from happening again, IF "tennis" doesn't want the women to act this way. IMO, They need to err on the side of line judges to avoid being afraid to make calls (aka do their job - right or wrong). You can bet that line judges will now just not make any close calls in a Serena match from now on. I hope no call on that close out ball doesn't matter.

Mj

You people never give up. Serena Williams never deserved a suspension for her outburst during the U.S. Open. A bigger fine perhaps, but that was not the rule that was in place at the time, and you can't retroactively penalize someone after the fact. Serena does NOT have a history of this type of behavior, and this outburst is not at all typical for her, as even her harshest critics will attest. So, all of you haters STILL screaming " off with her head" really need to get over yourselves and your manufactured outrage.

However, I do agree with you on point. If the WTA locker room was polled, they would definitely want Serena gone. But not for the reasons you mean. They would want her gone, so that they would have more of a chance at some big titles, since Serena has done such a great job of denying them those opportunities, the most recent being the WTA Championship. It took her 15 years, but she finally gave you dummies a true bone to gnaw on. Unfortunately for you, the WTA is not stupid enough to get rid of one their biggest draws because of one foolish, uncharacteristic mistake. Morons.

mj,wta does not govern slam,that's the ITF. and it's still very likely although they are dragging their feet on this.

Lowering the number of mandatory tournaments has been widely accepted on the tour. Now it's time for the WTA to stand up and suspend Serena Williams from at least one major (the Australian seems logical) for her flagrant violation of the rules.

All the players know the fine was a joke. It sent the wrong message. You can essentially do or say whatever you want and it might cost you the equivalent of one day's shopping at Harrod's.

The WTA could easily do a blind survey of all their members in less than a week. I'd make a sizable wager that the tour members would cast their votes for Serena's suspension. As well they should.