The much anticipated return of Serena Williams to the WTA Tour did not happen in Beijing today, and casts doubt whether she will play again in 2018.
Since her US Open final outburst and loss to 20-year-old Naomi Osaka, Williams reputation has endured a tough few weeks having suffered intense criticism from many quarters, fellow tennis legends, the media, and now from US double Olympic gold medal Boxing Champion Claressa Shields, who once idolised her.
That all changed when the 23-year-old WBA and IBF middleweight and super-middleweight champion met Serena at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She told the Detroit Free Press that “She was just not nice and not fan-friendly”.
“She was kinda mean to a lot of people at the Olympics and just made me no longer want to be like her. I’m a fan of her being a great athlete , just not a fan of her as a person”.
Today, a mellower side of Serena surfaced when a video clip of her singing the 1990 Divinyls pop hit “I touch myself” was posted to remind women to self check regularly during “Breast Cancer awareness month”. The project is supported by the Berlei Bra company for the benefit of the Breast Cancer Network of Australia.
Williams, a longtime brand ambassador for Berlei, wrote on social media: “Yes, this put me out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to do it because it’s an issue that affects all women of all colours, all around the world. Early detection is key—it saves so many lives. I just hope this helps to remind women of that.”
