Serena Williams just casually reclaimed her number one ranking, announced her pregnancy with an ode to her unborn baby, and served some serious realness to the racist haters. Just in case you were wondering, Serena is a certified bad ass.
After returning to the top of the WTA world rankings earlier this year, Serena shared news of her pregnancy, first with a Snapchat, followed by an Instagram letter to her baby-to-be in which she spoke of the strength, serenity, and peace she has gained and her excitement to share being number one with her soon to be number one.
But like most good things, it didn’t take long for the haters to come out of the woodwork. Romania’s tennis star Ilie Natase, who earned the nickname “Nasty” for his on-court attitude in the ’70s, said of Serena’s baby-to-be, “Let’s see what color it has. Chocolate with milk?” Natase, who earlier this month accused Serena of doping based solely on her body type, has a reputation for sexual harassment and spiteful, racially charged rhetoric. Serena was not having it. Responding with grace, she said she was disappointed in Natase and in our society.
We applaud Serena’s response, and we too mourn that we still live in a time when it is necessary.
Images via Instagram/SerenaWilliams
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