Former WTA world No. 1, Serena Williams, has blasted "haters" who speculated about whether she bleached her skin after the tennis legend appeared at a recent event.
Since retiring from tennis in 2022, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion has been able to attend more events. She emotionally bid farewell to tennis after losing in the third round of the US Open to Ajla Tomljanovic.
Although the WTA Tour is in a superb place because of stars like Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, and Iga Swiatek, Williams is still missed. Her blistering brand of tennis was incredible to watch for over 20 years.
Williams recently admitted she misses tennis like crazy. The 43-year-old now sets herself new goals to satisfy those competitive urges, but it can never replace the feeling of being a professional tennis player.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion's ultra-competitive nature often made her a fiery figure before she retired. An ex-coach revealed that no one had a bigger desire for revenge than Williams when she lost a match.
Although Serena did not previously rule out a return to competitive tennis, that does not seem likely now. It would be very surprising to see any player, even a legend like Williams, attempt to return at the age of 43.
However, her sister Venus Williams, a tennis legend in her own right, has not officially retired despite being 44. The five-time Wimbledon singles winner plans to pick and choose her tournaments during the 2025 season.
A positive aspect of being retired is Serena can spend more time with her family. She is married to Alexis Ohanian, and the pair have two children. Williams said growing her family was one reason for retiring when she announced it in 2022.
The American shared a video of Ohanian and their kids at a school event. Unfortunately, some were more focused on how Williams looked than on the family attending an event together at the school.
A section of responses to the footage of Williams claimed that the former world No. 1 had bleached her skin, and there were many unpleasant remarks about how she looked in the video shared.
Williams did not take those comments lying down. In an Instagram Live video, the former Olympic gold medalist hit out at haters and confirmed she does not bleach her skin because she is proud of her appearance.
"And then I put just that neutral color, that is actually my skin color, and no, for you haters out there, I do not bleach my skin. There is a thing called sunlight, and in that sunlight, you get different colors."
"Yes, I’m calling you out on this because it is ridiculous. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, she bleached her skin.’ I’m a dark, Black woman, and I love who I am, and I love how I look."
Although she responded to those spreading disinformation, Williams also clarified that she does not judge people who choose to bleach their skin.
"But that’s what this world is about, and I stay in my lane — the non-judgy one, and I keep it. But no, I actually don’t bleach my skin, so can we just kinda clear that up?"
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