Serena Williams has been fined £8,000 after smashing her racket into one of the Wimbledon championships courts four times in just a few seconds and leaving patches of grass on the surface, Sportsmail can reveal.

The decision to sanction the seven-time champion was made after the All England Club board and the referee’s office reviewed video evidence.

The offense took place at the end of a practice session between Serena and her sister Venus before the tournament and was recorded by a Daily Mail photographer.

Serena Williams was fined £8,000 after smashing her racket into one of the Wimbledon championship courts four times in a few seconds and leaving divots in the surface

The decision to sanction the seven-time champion was taken after video evidence was reviewed by the All England Club’s hierarchy and the referee’s office

‘Serena was not hitting the ball well and could not seem to get a rally going,’ said photographer Mark Large. ‘A couple of minutes before the end of the practice she missed a shot, turned around and smashed her racket into the surface.’

The pair were hitting on Court 15 — between Centre Court and Court 1. After miscuing a shot she stood on the baseline and smashed her racket into the lush new turf four times in quick succession.

There were said to be three areas of damage and a groundsman had to clear up shards from her racket after she had left the court.

Murray is believed to have seen the incident as he waited with his entourage to use the court, but did not interact with his mixed-doubles partner.

The charge sheet stated the offence took place on the Sunday before the tournament, but that cannot have been the case because all championship courts were closed to competitors then.

Players are restricted to the Aorangi Park area on that day.

A club spokesperson explained the date on the form was a generic one to represent the fact the offence had happened before the start of the tournament.

The long inquiry process is in part an indication of the extreme sensitivity with which any incident involving the one authentic superstar of the women’s game is handled.

Insiders have told Sportsmail that one of the reasons for the delay was that damaging a championship court in practice was unprecedented. Given the profile of the player, there was also the desire to back up any accusation with video evidence.

Williams clarified the situation: “I really haven’t thought about it and I’m just focused on today’s match,” she said. ‘I just threw my racket.’

When asked what damage she could have done to deserve such a fine, she replied: ‘I guess if you could tell me, I would appreciate it. I’ve always been an Avenger in my heart. Maybe I’m super strong, I don’t know.’

The length of deliberations on how to handle the episode is unusual. For example, on Monday, French player Benoit Paire was officially warned for smashing his racket on court 18 just before 2 p.m. At 8:00 p.m. the same day, he was fined 1,600 pounds even though the incident of course happened during a match.

It is standard practice at Wimbledon not to announce details of fines until later in the day, out of respect for players who do not want to be distracted before competition.

It’s unknown what set Serena off that day, but throughout the tournament she spoke out about having to play catch-up before Wimbledon due to knee problems.