‘Respect Me and My Privacy’ – A Pregnant Serena Williams Once Rebuked John McEnroe for His Comments

Serena Williams is rightly considered one of the best tennis players of all time. The 40-year-old has ruled the court for over two decades now, winning an astonishing 23 Grand Slam titles in her illustrious career. Over the years, Serena has been a benchmark for female tennis players. However, former American tennis player John Patrick McEnroe once made an audacious claim.

He said that the women’s game is nowhere close to the men’s game in terms of quality. In order to justify his claims, the American compared Serena Williams with the 700th-ranked men’s player.

This did not go well with the 40-year-old, as she reacted to McEnroe’s views.

Serena Williams didn’t appreciate John McEnroe’s claims

Back in 2017, when Serena was pregnant with her first child, McEnroe made a controversial remark about the 23-time Grand Slam champion. Although he acknowledged that Serena is one of the best female tennis players of all time, he said that the American would be ranked 700th in the world if she played in the men’s circuit. Reacting to this, Serena said,

“Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based, I’ve never played anyone ranked “there” nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I’m trying to have a baby. Good day, sir.”

The comparison between men’s and women’s game is nothing new in the history of tennis. Billie Jean King was the flag bearer of the fight against discrimination and disregard shown towards female athletes in the sport. She participated in the famous battle of sexes game against Bobby Riggs, winning 6-4 6-3 6-3.

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However, with time, the world has moved forward and women’s tennis is now getting its due respect.

Serena is likely to miss Wimbledon 2022

7-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams is away from tennis for over a year now. She last played in the 2021 Wimbledon. Recently, the 40-year-old American legend had hinted at her comeback at this year’s Wimbledon.

However, the former world number one’s name is missing from the entry list released by Wimbledon.

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Although she could via a wild card invitation, nothing as such has been confirmed for now. Fans of Serena Williams will probably have to wait longer to see their favorite star back in action.