In the aftermath of the controversial US Open 2018 final, Serena Williams said that she would tell her daughter Olympia that she stood up for what she believed if Olympia ever asked about that match.
The 41-year-old lost 6-2, 6-4 to Naomi Osaka in a final marred by a series of controversial moments during the second set. Chair umpire Carlos Ramos gave the American legend a warning for coaching, though she insisted she was not getting coached.
Williams berated Ramos on several times after that and even called him a liar and a thief. The Portuguese official subsequently gave her a game penalty for verbal abuse and the situation became so intense that supervisors had to intervene. The 23-time Grand Slam champion later broke into tears in the intense atmosphere, claiming that she was not being coached during the match.
The American eventually lost the match and was asked in her post-match press conference how she would explain the incident to her daughter Olympia. Serena Williams said that if her daughter brought up the topic, she would say that she stood up for what she believed in.
“Honestly, I don’t know if she’ll bring it up, to be honest. Is she going to be like, ‘Mom, what happened in the 2018 US Open?’ I’m going to be like, ‘First of all, I’m going to have to think, Okay, 2018, which one was that one?'” the former World No. 1 said.
“I’ll tell her, first of all, if she sees it, that, you know, I stood up for what I believed in. I stood up for what was right. Sometimes things in life don’t happen the way we want them, but to always stay gracious and stay humble. I think that’s the lesson we can all learn from this, just like I did,” she added.
