Serena Williams Shows Touching Sportsmanship Display After Controversial US Open Loss

Serena Williams is still looking for her first major win after becoming a mother.

Over the last year, Williams not only had her first child, but she became the wife of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and worked her way back into being one of the best tennis players in the world.

 

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A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Sep 2, 2018 at 7:37pm PDT

During the last several months, Williams found herself in several major finals only to come up short.

On September 8, Williams found herself in a similar position — competing in the finals at the U.S. Open against Japanese opponent Naomi Osaka.

Prior to the match, the 36-year-old’s husband, Alexis, shared a touching video showing the yearlong battle Williams endured in order to get back to where she is now in both her life and the sport of tennis:

She fought for her life, for our child, for recognition, for equal pay, for women’s rights. She never gives up.

I had this made for @serenawilliams last night after her match with some home videos from 1 year ago this week. Help me make sure she sees it!#iloveyouserena pic.twitter.com/OV6Zo1DBxZ

— Alexis Ohanian Sr. ? (@alexisohanian) September 7, 2018

Alexis wrote:

She fought for her life, for our child, for recognition, for equal pay, for women’s rights. She never gives up.

I had this made for Serena Williams last night after her match with some home videos from 1 year ago this week. Help me make sure she sees it!

Over the course of the final match, Williams showed many emotions.

Not only did Williams break a racket, but she also exchanged words with the match judge, who gave her a warning for “coaching,” which Williams adamantly denied receiving:

The #SoWhatWeNotGoneDo moment of the day, sponsored by @KamalaHarris pic.twitter.com/NKPf3YZPAm

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 8, 2018

In the moment, Williams told the judge that she has never cheated, nor would she ever. She questioned why she has “problems” every time she plays at the U.S. Open and even brought up her daughter, Olympia, who looks up to her, further stressing the point that she would never cheat.

Serena standing up for herself branded as “verbal abuse” by an oversensitive ref ? it’s only Saturday and this whole weekend has already been a mess smh #USOpen #USOpen2018 (via @formationsghost on IG) pic.twitter.com/rA6aBOh1QL

— caleb (@BEYONCESXN) September 8, 2018

She also demanded that the judge apologize for accusing her of cheating.

We just witnessed a monumental moment in not only sport, but one that WILL spark conversations on how differently women & women of color, in particular, are held to a higher standard than men. @serenawilliams YOU ARE A QUEEN & you just made your daughter so proud! ?? #USOpen pic.twitter.com/XW2fdJYMHf

— AJ Gibson (@AJGibson) September 8, 2018

Later in the match, Williams called the judge a “thief” for stealing a point from her. The judge then issued a penalty to Williams, who eventually broke into tears, calling the ruling unfair.

Williams told the referees that “male” tennis players get away with so much worse.

Serena Williams: “There’s a lot of men out here that have said a lot of things and because they’re a man, that doesn’t happen to them.” (via ESPN) pic.twitter.com/9MqhnAja20

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 8, 2018

Those actions gave Williams’ opponent another “free point,” putting Osaka just one game away from winning the U.S. Open.

Eventually, Williams could not overcome the controversy, and Osaka did come out a Grand Slam champion.

.@serenawilliams instructs crowd to stop booing and celebrate @Naomi_Osaka_‘s moment of winning her first grand slam. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/LOAyB42OmQ

— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) September 8, 2018

At the end of the match, Williams had tears in her eyes, refused any questions, and only put a positive spotlight on the 20-year-old winner. We are sure Olympia is very proud of her mother.