Serena Williams has not been able to stay in the good lane since she retired from tennis. She has been found criticizing players and, most recently, encouraging the ban on Simona Halep. Serena retired from the sport after the 2022 US Open and has been busy with parenthood and her business ventures. But the former world No.1 has also been caught up in controversies.
Serena, along with other players in the game, was seen at an event in Miami. The American clicked pictures with Caroline Wozniacki, Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Beckham. When Serena posted pictures on Instagram, fans couldn’t help but notice Sabalenka being cropped out. “I’m dead this shady lady needs to be stopped,” commented one fan and even went on to call her a 40-year-old bully.
I’M DEAD THIS SHADY LADY NEEDS TO BE STOPPED #40YEAROLDBULLY https://t.co/nWAm02CrWd
— k. (@krysalysonline) October 22, 2023
First she throws shade at Halep and now Aryna. Am I the only one who hates Serena? Like she’s acting like an entitled asshole her sister Venus is a much better example.
— cheesey (@cheesesforme) October 23, 2023
One fan went on to share the original picture, which included the Belarusian in the frame. The fan also shared that Serena had cropped out Sabalenka because the world No.1 looks bigger than Serena.
@serenawilliams cropped out @SabalenkaA Because she looks so tiny when Sabalenka is in the pic check this out! pic.twitter.com/JKe5UpvQVf
— jml13332 (@jml13332) October 23, 2023
It is not clear as to why Serena chose to edit the picture while posting on social media. The pair have also played against each other at the Australian Open in 2021. The 23-time grand slam champion won the fourth-round match in three sets. Sabalenka’s playing style has been compared to Serena’s due to her fierce groundstrokes on the court.
Aryna Sabalenka focused on herself amid comparisons with Serena Williams
The dominance on the WTA tour completely changed since the late 90’s. With the arrival of Serena and Venus Williams, the tour could only see a few different winners. While Venus is still active on tour, Serena was on top of her game for over two decades. At present, there is stiff competition on tour with players like Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka was compared to the 42-year-old after winning the Madrid Open in May this season. But the 2023 Australian Open winner explained that she was more focused on herself and improving her game. Sabalenka reached the semifinals of all the grand slams this year; the feat was last achieved by Serena in 2016.
Aryna Sabalenka is the only active woman to reach the semifinals at all four majors in one year 👏
The last to achieve this feat was Serena Williams in 2016. pic.twitter.com/y30L7aOlCw
— ESPN (@espn) September 6, 2023
In the WTA rankings, the 25-year-old has a 630-point lead over Swiatek. Sabalenka has been on top of the rankings for more than a month now. She is expected to finish the season on top for the first time. Sabalenka will be next seen at Cancun for the WTA finals. The season-ending championship will begin on 29th October as the top eight players of the season will play for the trophy.