Serena Fined By WTA Tour

September 21, 1999 / 3:44 PM EDT / CBS/AP

U.S. Open champion Serena Williams withdrew from the Seat Open today, saying she was exhausted from three straight weeks of tennis, she was fined $16,900 by the WTA Tour.

The top-seed Williams had a first-round bye and was scheduled to play her first match Thursday, but she said flying from the United States and playing another tournament this week would be too much.

She played in the Fed Cup matches over the weekend.

"I feel I cannot make the journey this week, as I am mentally and physically exhausted after three consecutive weeks of tennis," she said in a statement released by the WTA.

"Players are fined for withdrawing from a tournament when they have already committed themselves," said WTA spokesman John Dolan, explaining the fine.

He said it was the fourth time this year Williams had pulled out of an event. The 17-year old already skipped Hilton Head Island event with a knee problem, pulled out of Wimbledon because of flu and was kept out of Toronto with tendinitis in her right shoulder, Dolan said.

The fine will be deducted from her bonus money at the end of the year, he said. "We are just following the rules. It is not a punishment," he said.

The organizers of the Seat Open blasted Williams' decision as "incomprehensible" and said it showed a "lack of respect" for tennis fans.

"Such behavior will cause great damage to the international women's tennis," said a statement from Charles Koster, chairman of International Women's Tennis Promotion Luxembourg.

If a player withdraws injured, she would need a medical certificate, but that procedure does not apply when the player argues she suffers from exhaustion. "That is up to the player," said Clare Wood, the WTA Tour representative in Luxembourg.

After winning the U.S. Open two weeks ago, Serena Williams joined the U.S. team which won the Fed Cup final against Russia over the weekend.

Williams is slated to play two tournaments in Germany, Munich and Filderstadt, over the next weeks.

"I was very much looking to forward to beginning my fall season at Luxembourg," Williams said. "I am very sorry for the fans and the tournament."