Just In: Fans Left Furious as Venus and Serena Williams Escape Penalty While Aryna Sabalenka Is Fined by the US Open After Losing £1m in Prize Money, With 18 Stars Punished
The US Open’s organisers have fined Aryna Sabalenka for her multiple outbursts in the final against Elena Rybakina. The frustrated Belarusian was handed an early code violation by the umpire for ball abuse, smashed her racket in a fit of rage and later told a TV cameraman to “f*** off” as they zoomed in on her face post-match. Sabalenka violated the code of conduct and has therefore lost an extra £5,569 ($7,500) from her prize pot for her offences.
Having lost 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to Rybakina, Sabalenka had already stood to lose nearly half of her £2m ($2.8m) prize money due to taxes. A 37 per cent federal tax deduction is applied to the world No.2’s winnings, and her take-home pay is reduced further by an additional 9.65 percent for New York state taxes. That deductions total just shy of £1m (but reach $1.261m in American currency). Sabalenka is one of 18 different players to have been sanctioned with the US Open’s fines totalling £83,520 ($112,500). The fines covered audible obscenities, dress code breaches and expected performance standards.
The code regulates player behaviour at Grand Slam events, with the penalties reflecting tennis’ requirements for professionalism both in conduct and performance.
Great Britain’s Arthur Fery received a £3,686 fine for loudly swearing during his US Open debut. The world No.36 lost to Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets in his opening match on Grandstand. He still earned £104,000 ($140k) despite losing in round one.
Meanwhile, Corentin Moutet was hit with two fines totalling £11,136 ($15k). The Frenchman is no stranger to financial penalties and violated code section III C, which concerns dress and equipment, during his first-round loss to Dane Sweeny.
Moutet was also punished for abuse of racquets or equipment before having his Australian opponent a walkover win after retiring in the third set.
Argentina’s Luisina Giovannini did not even qualify for the main draw yet was still the highest-punished player at the entire tournament. Giovannini has been slapped with a £14.8k ($20k) sanction for retiring just five games into her first-round qualifier.
The world No.198 was playing Lucia Bronzetti from Italy on Court 11 at Flushing Meadows. But Giovannini, 19, lasted just 17 minutes. After being broken three times to trail 5-0 in the opening set, she walked up to the umpire and said she could not continue playing because of injury.
Yet tournament officials deemed Giovannini’s performance fell below professional standards and penalised under the code “First-Round Performance”. The penalty amounted to more than 60 per cent of her US Open prize money – which was around £23.7k ($32k).
In her on-court speech after losing to Rybakina, Sabalenka said on Arthur Ashe: “That’s the last thing I want to do right now is give a speech, but I’ll try my very best. Thank you for your support throughout the two weeks. It was amazing playing in front of you all.
Obviously, I’m disappointed but I want to congratulate Elena on an incredible year and incredible results. Well deserved. Enjoy it. Have fun tonight, tomorrow, and until the end of the season so I can win some titles!
“I wish I could have performed a little bit better, but I guess next year. Thank you.” She later added in a press conference: “It’s really tough to control your emotions when you lose in the final of the Grand Slam and when you were trying to go for a three-peat.
“So I just wanted to let it go, because if I would hold it inside, right now or here or there on the court, I wouldn’t be able to say a word or I would just go not really nice over there. So I just wanted to let all of that aggression and disappointment go outside.”
The US Open have confirmed the final list of fines for players at the 2026 Grand Slam with world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka and British star Arthur Fery among those penalised…
- Luisina Giovannini: $20k (£14.8k) – Despite not qualifying for the main draw, Giovanini has lost 60 per cent of her prize money for violating code section III G under ‘First-Round Performance’. She was judged not to have met proper performance standards after quitting 17 minutes into her match while 5-0 down, having won only eight of 29 points. She walked off court after complaining to the umpire she could not continue due to injury.
- Sebastian Ofner: $2.5k (£1.8k) – Punished for a violation of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment.
- Otto Virtanen: $2.5k (£1.8k) – Punished for a violation of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment.
- Thiago Seyboth Wild: $2.5k (£1.8k) – Violated code section III R and penalised for unsportsmanlike conduct.
- Arthur Gea: $2.5k (£1.8k) – Punished for a violation of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment.
- Vilius Gaubas: $2.5k (£1.8k) – Punished for a violation of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment.
- Jaime Faria: $7.5k (£5.5k) – Violated code section III K for audible obscenity during his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.
- Terence Atmane: $7.5k (£5.5k) – Violated code section III P for verbal abuse which conerns any statement directed at an official, opponent, sponsor, spectator, or other person that implies dishonesty, or is derogatory, insulting, or otherwise abusive.
- Arthur Fils: $5k (£3.7k) – Punished for a violation of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment.
- Corentin Moutet: $5k (£3.7k) – A breach of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment.
- Corentin Moutet: $10k (£7.4k) – The second of Moutet’s fines came for violating code section III C which concerns dress and equipment.
- Belinda Bencic: $5k (£3.7k) – Violated code section III R and penalised for unsportsmanlike conduct.
- Arthur Fery: $5k (£3.7k) – Violated code section III K for audible obscenity during his first-round loss.
- Polina Iatcenko: $5k (£3.7k) – Punished for a violation of code section III L – which concerns players illegally receiving audible or visible communications from a coach during a match.
- Luciano Darderi: $5k (£3.7k) – Punished for a violation of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment.
- Dalibor Svrcina: $5k (£3.7k) – Punished for a violation of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment.
- Francisco Cerundolo: $5k (£3.7k) – Punished for a violation of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment.
- Luciano Darderi: $5k (£3.7k) – Punished for a violation of code section III K for audible obscenity.
- Aryna Sabalenka: $7.5k (£5.5k) – Punished for a violation of code section III O – which is the abuse of racquets or equipment – after an outburst following her final loss to Elena Rybakina.
