The racket Serena Williams smashed during her 2018 US Open Final defeat by Naomi Osaka is up for auction and could fetch up to $50,000.
Williams famously destroyed the racket, a Wilson Blade, midway through the second set of the match, shortly after the umpire Carlos Ramos accused her of receiving coaching.
She received a code violation for the resulting outburst and, later, after calling him a "liar and a thief," a game penalty. After losing to Osaka 6-2, 6-4, Williams accused him of sexism.
The racket is now up for sale on Goldin Auctions and had a bid of $2,100 on Monday. However, that figure is expected to rise significantly before the auction closes.
"I think the low end would be $10,000, and I wouldn't be surprised if it goes to $25,000 or $50,000," Ken Goldin, the founder of Goldin Auctions, told The New York Times.
The piece of memorabilia came to the auction by way of a US Open ball boy named Justin Arrington-Holmes, who told The Times that Williams said he could keep it after the match.
Arrington-Holmes, unaware of its potential value, then sold it with a certificate of authenticity to a buyer for a meager $500, and it's since made its way to Goldin Auctions.
It remains unclear whether the person who bought the racket from Arrington-Holmes is the seller. An employee at the store Arrington-Holmes sold it to told The Times that it was not the seller, though Goldin said the seller had asked to remain anonymous.
The auction ends on December 7.
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