I would probably be in jail if I behaved like Zverev, says Williams
America's 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion Serena Williams said she would have faced far harsher punishment had she behaved like Alexander Zverev, who was thrown out of a tournament in Mexico last month for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Zverev, the men's world No. 3, who had just lost in a doubles match, was kicked out of the ATP 500 event in Acapulco after he smashed his racket repeatedly against the umpire's chair.
The German was later fined US$40,000 (S$54,400) for the incident, in which he came perilously close to hitting umpire Alessandro Germani.
"There is absolutely a double standard," former world No. 1 Williams told CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour. "I would probably be in jail if I did that - like, literally, no joke."
"I was actually on probation once," she added, but declined with a chuckle to discuss further when Amanpour inquired about the incident.
In 2009, the Grand Slam committee placed Williams on probation for two years and fined her US$175,000 for a "major offence of aggravated behaviour" during her semi-final against eventual champion Kim Clijsters at the US Open.
"You see that (double standard) when you see other things happening on the Tour, like, 'wait - if I had done that? Hmm,'" said Williams.
"But it's okay. At the end of the day, I am who I am and I love who I am." - REUTERS
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