We all know Serena Williams can give as good as she gets on the courts. So it’s really no surprise that she bossed the Australian Open and beat Czech player Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-4 last night. Of course she did: she’s tennis royalty.
Further proof: at a press conference for the Open, a reporter had the audacity to tell the tennis icon she gave a ‘little bit of a scrappy performance’ in the match. Scrappy. That word is only OK to describe kids who are going through an ‘I-Don’t-Need-To-Brush-My-Hair’ phase. Not to describe a six-time world No. 1 tennis player.
But, of course, Serena Williams wasn’t going to accept his ridiculous comment. Oh no. She hit back straightaway and said, ‘I think that’s a very negative thing to say. Are you serious?’ Our thoughts exactly.
Most of us would have said something a little less PG (and thrown in a few hand gestures for good measure), but Williams dealt with the situation with Grace Kelly poise. She added, ‘That wasn’t very kind. You should apologise. Do you want to apologise?’
Maybe the reporter didn’t want to join Trump as one of the most hated men of 2017, or maybe he just came to his senses. Either way, he apologised.
This isn't the first time Serena has stood up for herself. In 2015, a male reporter asked her to smile - which makes me think of those creepy old men at the pub who tell you to 'smile love or you won't get served'. If I've been queueing for half an hour for a drink then I'm not going to be in a smiley mood. Serena Williams had the same reaction and told the reporter 'To be perfectly honest with you, I don't want to be here.' YES.
Serena Williams is brilliant, and her reaction to the reporter at the Open proves that she knows this. She wasn’t going to let some random guy degrade her outstanding performance and knock her confidence. Instead, she stayed proud of her achievement and said ‘That was a great performance. I played well.’ Damn straight.
So next time your boss makes you want to cry in a loo cubicle, just channel your Inner Serena. Keep your chin up and remember your worth.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.