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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Reuters and Guardian sport

Serena Williams says she ‘would be in jail’ if she behaved like Zverev on court

Serena Williams, pictured at a Paris Fashion Week event, has previously voiced concerns that women are held to different standards by tennis authorities.
Serena Williams, pictured at a Paris Fashion Week event, has previously voiced concerns that women are held to different standards by tennis authorities. Photograph: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis/Getty Images

Serena Williams has accused tennis authorities of double standards, claiming she would “probably be in jail” if she behaved like Alexander Zverev, who was thrown out of an ATP event after smashing his racket against the umpire’s chair.

Zverev was disqualified from the ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco and fined $40,000 over the incident, in which he came perilously close to hitting the umpire Alessandro Germani. The world No 3 repeatedly struck Germani’s chair after losing a first-round doubles match, but is yet to receive any further sanction after issuing an apology.

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