We are now in the crunch stages of Wimbledon, where the pressure (and the prize money) is escalating.

Today sees the women’s semi-finals, and on Saturday and Sunday, the women and men will play their respective finals.

The champions will each take home £2,35 million, with the runner-up pocketing £1,175 million, so no pressure.

Along the way at this year’s Wimbledon, more than a few players have copped fines, the most recent of which is Serena Williams. She was handed a $10 000 fine for damaging one of the practice courts with her racquet, with the incident taking place on an outside court during a training session on June 30.

That’s the day before the tournament began, although it’s only now come to light. Via CNN, here’s her response:

“I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest,” Williams, who has won more than $88 million in her career, told reporters after winning her quarterfinal against compatriot Alison Riske Tuesday.

“I just threw my racquet. I got fined.”

When asked how she caused $10,000 worth of damage, Williams said: “I mean, I guess if you could tell me, I would appreciate it. I mean, I have always been an Avenger in my heart. Maybe I’m super strong, I don’t know.”

What’s $10 000 when you have an estimated net worth of $180 million, right?

Across the tournament, the fines have been raining down:

Australia’s Bernard Tomic was fined his full Wimbledon prize money of $58,500 last week for not meeting the “required professional standard” during his lackluster 58-minute first-round defeat by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Italy’s Fabio Fognini was also docked $3,000 for saying a “bomb should explode” on the All England Club following his third-round loss to Tennys Sandgren Saturday.

Another Australian Nick Kyrgios has been fined twice — $3,000 and $5,000 — during this year’s championships for incidents of unsportsmanlike conduct in his first and second-round matches.

That ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ included failing to try at all during points in those matches.

Kyrgios is a special kind of wanker, and he has made a habit out of spoiling his matches whilst fans watch on in horror.

He was also spotted out at a pub the night before his second-round loss to Rafa Nadal, which did lead to this funny exchange:

Good chuckle. Still a wanker.

Tomic, meanwhile, is at the centre of a feud that is threatening to tear Australian tennis apart. Together with Kyrgios, they’re basically the David Warner / Steve Smith Ozzie tennis equivalent.

Back to those fines, and we aren’t done yet:

Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus have also been fined $10,000 for incidents of unsportsmanlike conduct.

Let’s also revisit the Fognini’s fine for saying a “bomb should explode”:

I know it’s the heat of the battle type stuff, but that is just plain daft.

A reminder that you can stream Wimbledon from your desk at work, for free, rather than doing any actual work.

[source:cnn]