When Serena Williams almost received a ban for her actions at the US Open

Serena Williams more often than not made headlines for the right reasons thanks to her stunning ability on the court. Williams could make a dramatic return at the US Open next year, but it remains to be seen if a remarkable comeback is truly on the cards. She has quite the history at the event, with the American icon winning the New York Grand Slam singles title six times. Home favorite Williams did, however, fall short in 2009, losing her semifinal with eventual champion Kim Clijsters.

Serena Williams avoided a ban despite 2009 US Open outburst
But she didn’t go down lightly, with the American reacting extremely angrily towards a line judge who called her for a foot fault late in the second set.

A point penalty followed, resulting in Williams losing the match after an earlier racket abuse warning, with the icon fined $82,500 and put on a two-year probation for her intense rant at the official.

She did, however, avoid a ban, and was expected to fall in line at the 2010 Australian Open, the next Grand Slam in the calendar. As quoted by TNT Sports at the time, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley welcomed Williams to compete in Melbourne, but didn’t want another tirade. He said: “We’re confident there will be no repeat and we’ve had no problems with Serena.

“It is important to know that her behaviour at the US Open was unacceptable, it couldn’t go unpunished.

“Those who are charged with making that decision have all that evidence and have precedents they can go on.

“From our view, we felt she needed to be punished and that type of behaviour needed to be punished.”

Serena Williams successfully defended her Australian Open title in 2010

Williams will have been both relieved and delighted about being given the chance to defend her title at the 2010 Australian Open.

But the rest of the field may have felt the opposite, particularly given that the American did indeed successfully defend her crown.

With a 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 final win over Justine Henin, Williams clinched her fifth Australian Open title and 12th career Grand Slam title.

She went on to win the hard-court tournament two more times before retiring, her joint-best Grand Slam alongside Wimbledon.