After Indian Wells Tennis Garden CEO Raymond Moore made disparaging remarks about the Women's Tennis Association on Sunday, Serena Williams fired back, calling his comments "a disservice" to such pioneers as Billie Jean King.
During a news conference before the BNP Paribas Open finals, Moore, a 69-year-old former professional tennis player from South Africa, said "in my next life, when I come back, I want to be someone in the WTA because they ride on the coattails of the men," ESPN reports. "They don't make any decisions, and they are lucky. They are very, very, lucky. If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have."
Williams, who lost in the final to Victoria Azarenka, called the comments disrespectful to King and "every female — not only a female athlete but every woman on this planet — that has ever tried to stand up for what they believe in and being proud to be a woman." Williams said she doesn't "think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that" and has heard from countless fans that they "don't watch tennis unless they're watching myself or my sister [Venus Williams]." Last year, she continued, the women's final of the U.S. Open "sold out well before the men. I'm sorry, did Roger play in that final or Rafa or any man play in that final that was sold out before the men's final? I think not."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Not long after, Moore released an apology, saying his comments about the WTA were "in extremely poor taste and erroneous."
-
Nvidia: unstoppable force, or powering down?Talking Point Sales of firm's AI-powering chips have surged above market expectations –but China is the elephant in the room
-
5 hard-working cartoons about Labor Day celebrationsCartoons Artists take on creation of AI, spelling mistakes, and more
-
Codeword: September 7, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirementsSpeed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off VenezuelaSpeed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
-
Trump vows to send federal forces to Chicago, BaltimoreSpeed Read The announcement followed a California judge ruling that Trump's LA troop deployment was illegal
