Serena Williams Tells Reporter to Apologize After Criticizing Her Winning Performance

Serena Williams at the Australian Open. Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all time, but that also means she’s often held to an unfairly high standard. After beating Lucie Safarova in the Australian Open’s second round, a reporter called her performance “scrappy” and asked about her 23 unenforced errors during the match. In response, Williams demanded an apology.

“I think that’s a very negative thing to say. Are you serious?” Williams asked the reporter.

“Just my observation,” he retorted.

“Well, you should have been out there. That wasn’t very kind. You should apologize. Do you want to apologize?”

The reporter then apologized, and Williams went on to defend her performance, though no one would have faulted her if she had decided to walk out at that point. “You know, it’s not an easy match. She’s a really good player. You have to go for more, which obviously makes a few more errors,” Williams said.

Serena Williams Asks Rude Reporter to Apologize