Serena Williams breaks silence on US Open controversy
Tennis star Serena Williams has opened up for the first time about the controversy surrounding her US Open outburst against chair umpire Carlos Ramos last week.
Despite coach Patrick Mouratoglou admitting he was coaching the star through signals, the 23-time grand slam champion insisted she knew nothing about it.
Speaking to The Project in an interview to air next week, she said: “He said he made a motion.”
“I don’t understand what he was talking about. We’ve never had signals.”
Williams also emphasises her previous claim that female tennis players were treated differently to men on tour.
“I just don’t understand … if you’re a female, you should be able to do even half of what a guy can do,” she continued.
Williams received three code violations and game penalty as well as later receiving a $17,000 fine.
Tennis icon Billie Jean King expressed her support for Williams, saying that she believes a similar outburst by a man would't of had the same consequences.
“Several things went very wrong during the match,” King tweeted.
“Coaching on every point should be allowed in tennis. It isn’t, and as a result, a player was penalised for the actions of her coach. This should not happen.”
The controversy surrounding the incident was heightened even more after Herald Sun editorial cartoonist Mark Knight drew Williams in a fit of rage on the court with a baby’s dummy beside her.
The cartoon received a lot of backlash online, however, Knight and his editor Damon Johnston stood behind the depiction.
In one of her first appearances since the outburst, Williams spoke at an event in Las Vegas about standing up for the issues that are close to your heart.
"I feel it’s really important to stand up for what you believe in,” she said. “Especially if it can affect the future and affect a lot of people in the future. That’s what it’s all about.
“Really it’s just about having a great team and rolling up your sleeves and hard work.
”I work really, really hard at my game. And then I work super hard at my fashion business. And I’m working incredibly hard at being a mom.”