--- title: Serena Williams Makes Reporter Apologize at Australian Open description: Following her defeat of Lucie Safarova at the Australian Open, Serena Williams didn't appreciate one reporter's criticism of her play. canonical: https://time.com/4639659/serena-williams-makes-reporter-apologize/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-19T22:57:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:53.907Z og:title: Serena Williams Make This Reporter Apologize is the Ultimate Queen Move og:description: "That wasn't very kind" og:url: https://time.com/4639659/serena-williams-makes-reporter-apologize/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Serena Williams Make This Reporter Apologize is the Ultimate Queen Move twitter:description: "That wasn't very kind" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Watch Serena Williams Make This Reporter Apologize in The Ultimate Queen Move > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1d44f7b4-22b3-4018-9593-fd0bc56bd967&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1d44f7b4-22b3-4018-9593-fd0bc56bd967&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=1d44f7b4-22b3-4018-9593-fd0bc56bd967&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1d44f7b4-22b3-4018-9593-fd0bc56bd967&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Serena Williams on Her Biggest Influence [Watch (HLS stream): Serena Williams on Her Biggest Influence](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zdwprGtE.m3u8) (0:58)  _Published 2014-04-24. Serena Williams talks about the importance of family._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 19, 2017 10:57 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 19, 2017 10:57 PM UTC Following her defeat of [Lucie Safarova](http://time.com/4032051/serena-williams-us-open-grand-slam/) in straight sets in the second round of the [Australian Open](http://time.com/4198404/2016-australian-open-tennis-tournament-faces/) Thursday, [Serena Williams](http://motto.time.com/4637497/serena-williams-engaged-reddit/) didn’t appreciate one reporter’s criticism of her play. After the moderator opened the floor for questions during her post-match press conference, Williams shut down comments from the first reporter called on, who dubbed her performance “scrappy” and full of unforced errors. “I think that’s a very negative thing to say,” she responded. “Are you serious?” The tennis superstar then went on to ask if he wanted to apologize, which he quickly did. “Thank you very much,” she said. “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.” > [](https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/822047651319267328) This isn’t the first time Williams has been completely honest with reporters. During a press conference at the 2015 U.S. Open, [she gave a flawlessly candid response](https://www.facebook.com/Squintz83/videos/927719745500/) when asked why she wasn’t smiling after her victory over sister Venus Williams. Watch the full Australian Open clip below. ## Transcript The most influential person for me has always been hard just to name one single person, but I would say mostly my family. My mom, my dad, and my sisters. They just, we grew up in such an environment where it was all about family and all about, you know, supporting each other and just always making sure that we protected each other. So even to this day I still live with my sister. We still play tennis together. We do so, so, so many things and so, it's like a family unit for me that's just so important. Being on the Time 100 list is really exciting to be considered as one of the most, 100 most influential people, for me, it's great. I just try to do the best I can everyday. And I always try to stay positive through the ups and the downs and often try to keep a smile on my face, so hopefully I can influence people out there to just be the best that they can. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4639659/serena-williams-makes-reporter-apologize/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4639659/serena-williams-makes-reporter-apologize/"},"headline":"Watch Serena Williams Make This Reporter Apologize in The Ultimate Queen Move","datePublished":"2017-01-19T22:57:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:02:53.907Z","description":"\"That wasn't very kind\"","url":"https://time.com/4639659/serena-williams-makes-reporter-apologize/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Sports topic","Athletes","tennis","serena williams"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4639659/serena-williams-makes-reporter-apologize/","name":"Watch Serena Williams Make This Reporter Apologize in The Ultimate Queen Move"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Serena Williams on Her Biggest Influence","description":"Serena Williams talks about the importance of family.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/zdwprGtE/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-04-24T10:24:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zdwprGtE.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4639659/serena-williams-makes-reporter-apologize/","duration":"PT58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4639659/serena-williams-makes-reporter-apologize/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```