Larry Brown Sports

Serena Williams responded to the criticism she faced from Sloane Stephens by saying she is a big fan of the up-and-coming player.

In an interview with ESPN The Magazine, Stephens said her mentor-protege relationship with Williams had been overblown by the media, and that Williams essentially dropped her as a friend after losing to her at the Australian Open in January.

Following her second-round match at the Madrid Open on Tuesday, Williams was asked about Stephens’ criticism.

“I’m a big Sloane Stephens fan and always have been,” Williams said at a press conference after beating Lourdes Dominguez 6-2, 7-5, per the AFP.

“I’ve always said that I think she can be the best in the world. I’ll always continue to think that and always be rooting for her.

“I really just always wish her and anyone, really, especially from America the best. We don’t have that many American players, so it’s always exciting to see so many young players doing so well.”

Williams certainly was playing nice with Stephens. That might be because the two supposedly spoke and hashed out their problems.

Stephens tweeted to that effect:

Guilty of being naive. Much respect 4 @serenawilliams , a champ & the GOAT. We spoke, we’re good. ONWARD! #lifelessons

— Sloane Stephens (@sloanetweets) May 7, 2013

So Stephens came out roaring like a young lion in the interview, but she really backed off. Maybe she couldn’t handle the negative publicity that came as a result of her comments.

H/T Beyond the Baseline

Sloane Stephens absolutely obliterated Serena Williams in an interview with ESPN The Magazine, saying the two do not enjoy a close relationship and that she has been shunned by Williams ever since beating the veteran at the Australian Open.

In the interview, Stephens says her relationship with Williams has completely deteriorated since she defeated the decorated 31-year-old in the quarterfinals at the Aussie Open in January. She also says that Williams was not her favorite player growing up and nothing like a mentor to her, contrary to how the story has been told by the media.

The interview appears in the May 13 issue of the magazine. The excerpts below come from Beyond the Baseline.

“She’s not said one word to me, not spoken to me, not said hi, not looked my way, not been in the same room with me since I played her in Australia,” Stephens says. “And that should tell everyone something, how she went from saying all these nice things about me to unfollowing me on Twitter.”

Stephens’ mother reportedly tried to stop her from going on, but Stephens continued.

“Like, seriously! People should know. They think she’s so friendly and she’s so this and she’s so that — no, that’s not reality! You don’t unfollow someone on Twitter, delete them off of BlackBerry Messenger. I mean, what for? Why?”

Stephens also says that a cryptic tweet sent by Williams shortly after their Australian Open match was about her:

I made you.

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) January 26, 2013

“I was like, ‘You really don’t think I know that that’s about me?’” Stephens tells the magazine, per Beyond the Baseline.

Stephens also dismisses the notion that Williams was her favorite player. She says Kim Clijsters became her favorite player after she was denied autographs from the Williams sisters.

In the interview, Stephens says she was in Delray Beach, Fla., at a Fed Cup event when she was 12 and had a poster she was hoping to have signed by Venus and Serena.

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Serena Williams attended the Honda Classic at PGA National on Friday, and she learned the hard (and embarrassing) way that spectators are not allowed to take pictures of golfers from the gallery.

The tennis star was stopped by the marshal while trying to take a picture of Tiger Woods. She admitted the mistake via Twitter, pleading innocence:

Ok at this Golf tournament. Just saw @tigerwoodsI understand NO golf Apparently u can’t take pics. This security for mad and yelled at me

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) March 1, 2013

I need to learn golf dident know I knew so little.

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) March 1, 2013

Apparently u can’t take pictures of golfers. In my Defense peeps always take pics of tennis players.

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) March 1, 2013

The Honda Classic is in Serena’s home area of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., which explains why she was there. At least she did grab one pic of Tiger that she managed to upload before being shot down:

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Serena Williams shared a picture on her Twitter account Wednesday night of her swollen right ankle and, as you can see, the area is massive in size.

Williams didn’t add much context to the photo, only writing “ouch” in her tweet.

We don’t know when the picture was taken, but what we do know is that Williams rolled her right ankle during her first-round match at the Australian Open last week. She managed to reach the quarterfinals despite the ankle problem, but the swelling coupled with back spasms may have contributed to her three-set loss to Sloane Stephens on Wednesday in Melbourne.

Photo credit: Twitter/Serena Williams

Serena Williams was bounced in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Wednesday by 19-year-old Sloane Stephens 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. The defeat marked the first time Serena lost to an American player who was younger than her. While it would be premature to call this a “changing of the guard” in women’s tennis, it is a sign of things to come.

Williams, who was already battling an ankle injury suffered during her first-round match, took a medical timeout during the second set to address back spasms. She went on to lose the set and match, but she says she did not consider quitting because of the injury.

Stephens clearly frustrated Williams, because Serena smashed her racquet in anger during the third set.

Here is what the racquet looked like after being destroyed:

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When Caroline Wozniacki decided to impersonate Serena Williams once again by stuffing her chest and behind with towels during a recent exhibition match, it likely never occurred to her that she would be accused of being racist. Williams and Wozniacki are friends, which is why Caroline thinks it’s a shame that people would say that about her when all she was trying to do was have a little fun.

“It’s been done a million times before by different players,” Wozniacki told the New York Times. “I would never have done it if I didn’t know Serena well. Obviously I know Serena very well. She’s a funny girl, and I knew she would take it with a smile and wouldn’t have anything against it.”

Serena did take it with a smile. In fact, she defended Wozniacki against those her were calling it racist by bringing up the fact that Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic have done the same thing in the past. Very few — if any — people accused Roddick of Djokovic of being racist. Nevertheless, Wozniacki said she will think twice before doing anything like that again in the future.

“It is because there is nothing really in that that I saw as racist or anything, so obviously I think it’s a pity you can’t just have a bit of fun,” she explained.

I tend to agree. Williams doesn’t have a big butt because she’s black. She has a big butt because she has a big butt. If you want to call Wozniacki insensitive for poking fun at her body type, that’s one thing. Calling it racist is a stretch.

H/T SI.com’s Beyond the Baseline

Serena Williams had an easy 6-0, 6-0 win in her first-round match at the Australian Open Tuesday, but she hurt her ankle in the process.

Williams rolled her ankle 19 minutes into her match with Edina Gallovits-Hall. Up 4-0 in the first set, Williams reached for a forehand after chasing down a ball from her opponent. She appeared to try sliding to stop, but she rolled over on her right ankle and fell to the ground.

Williams was down in pain and received a medical timeout to have her ankle examined. After having her ankle re-taped, Williams returned to an applause and went on to complete a double-bagel of her opponent.

According to The Associated Press, Williams said she had swelling and pain in her ankle, but she won’t let that prevent her from competing in the rest of the tournament.

“Oh, I’ll be out there,” she told reporters after the match. “I mean, unless something fatal happens to me, there’s no way I’m not going to be competing. I’m alive. My heart’s beating. I’ll be fine.”

Williams, who is seeded third in the tournament, is scheduled to play Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the second round on Thursday. Williams is seeking her sixth Australian Open title. Tuesday was a reminder that she’s not playing on clay, so sliding comes at a risk.