Sunday 9 September 2018 23:41, UK
Serena Williams has been fined a total of £13,156 for three code violations during the US Open final.
The tournament referee's office docked Williams £7,739 for "verbal abuse" of chair umpire Carlos Ramos, £3,095 for being warned for coaching, and £2,321 for breaking her racket.
The money comes out of her prize money of £1.43m she received as the tournament's runner-up. Williams lost to Naomi Osaka in Saturday's final.
Williams received an initial code violation for coaching, a penalty point for racket abuse and a game penalty for calling umpire Ramos a "thief".
The 36-year-old was insistent she had not received coaching, saying on court she "would rather lose than cheat", before accusing Ramos of sexism in her post-match press conference.
Under Article III, Section P, "verbal abuse" is defined as "a statement about an official, opponent, sponsor, spectator or other person that implies dishonesty or is derogatory, insulting or otherwise abusive". The section says a player is subject to a fine up to £15,478 for each violation.
There are separate categories for coaching ("Communications of any kind, audible or visible, between a player and a coach may be construed as coaching") and for abuse of rackets or equipment.
Defeat saw Willaims' bid to equal Margaret Court's all-time Grand Slam record of 24 titles go on as Osaka became Japan's first Grand Slam champion.
We have every major tennis event covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
Tennis is back on Sky Sports screens with the Laver Cup in September while we will also have coverage of the ATP Finals in November with every match live on Sky Sports.
