Serena Williams Shuts Down Reporter Who Called Her Performance "Scrappy"

The last thing Serena Williams expected after beating Lucie Safarova during the second round of the Australian Open was criticism.

But in a post-match press conference, Williams completely shut down a reporter who described her performance as “scrappy” and full of unforced errors. “I think that’s a very negative thing to say,” she responded. “Are you serious?”

Williams gave the reporter an opportunity to apologize, which he did, and then lauded her opponent’s performance. “Thank you very much,” Williams replied to the reporter’s apology. “That was a great performance. I played well. She’s a former top-10 player. The last time we played together was the finals of a Grand Slam. You know, it’s not an easy match. She’s a really good player. You have to go for more, which obviously makes a few more errors. 

“So, yeah, I think it was overall a really good match, on both of our ends.”

Consider that reporter burned.

Although the tennis star wasn’t thrilled by the reporter’s line of questioning, Williams does have a lot to celebrate in addition to her big win at the Australian Open. The 35-year-old athlete recently became engaged to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, but she’s focusing on her career for now.

“It feels good,” she shared when asked about her engagement. “I really haven’t thought about it too much. I wasn’t going to think about it until after the tournament. I keep saying that in February I will start looking at the bigger picture of my life.”

She briefly touched upon her fiancé during a previous press conference and had nothing but wonderful things to say about him. “He is an incredibly nice person,” she dished. “He really treats everyone the same, which is really cool to see.”