“I. Don’t. Play. For. Second. Place,” After a crashing loss to Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams did this with her runner-up’s platter!

Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams in a controversial US Open 2018 final to lift her first Grand Slam title.

“I. Don’t. Play. For. Second. Place,” After a crashing loss to Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams did this with her runner-up’s platter!

Serena Williams (L), Naomi Osaka and Serena (R) (Sources: Imago)

The 2018 US Open final between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka was one of the most controversial matches in the career of the former American tennis player.

Naomi Osaka’s victory, which made her the first-ever Japanese player to win a Grand Slam title, was tainted by Serena Williams’ fight with the chair umpire.

YouTube video

Serena Williams was obviously the favorite going into the final, and everyone was a bit taken aback when Naomi Osaka won the first set. 

FS Video

During the second set, the umpire gave Serena a code violation as her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was giving her some signals from the stands.

It was only the first of many violations that she was about to receive. Serena Williams got a code violation for breaking her racket out of frustration and then for verbally abusing the chair umpire.

After this, she broke down in tears and called in the referee. Serena Williams accused the umpire of sexism and claimed that he owed her an apology for accusing her of cheating.

Naomi Osaka went on to win the final in straight sets to lift her first-ever Grand Slam title. The players hugged it out after the match, and Serena even asked the crowd to stop booing when Osaka was receiving her award. 

However, Ben Rothenberg recently revealed in Naomi Osaka’s biography that Serena Williams trashed her runner-up trophy after returning to her locker room. 

Once she was behind closed doors, Serena made her feelings about the relic of her loss clear, dumping the platter into a trash can.
Rothenberg wrote. (H/T: Tennis.com)

In fact, when an attendant attempted to return the trophy to Serena, she denied it. 

 I don’t play for second place.
She said

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Serena Williams apologized to Naomi Osaka after her loss in the US Open 2018 final 

Fans criticized Serena Williams heavily after the controversial final of the 2018 US Open, as she took away all the spotlight from Naomi Osaka on the night of her first Grand Slam title win.

In fact, when Naomi Osaka was lifting her trophy, the crowd booed her, which caused the Japanese to break down in tears.

Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams (Source: NBC News)

Although Serena Williams had asked the crowd to stop booing at that time, she was apparently not satisfied with that and took the time to apologize to the youngster through an essay later on. 

I would never, ever want the light to shine away from another female, specifically another black female athlete. Can’t wait for your future, and believe me I will always be watching as a big fan! I wish you only success today and in the future. Once again, I am so proud of you. All my love and your fan, Serena.
She wrote. 

Things have been fine between the two athletes. Naomi Osaka always said that Serena Williams has been her inspiration from the beginning, and she never said anything negative, even when the media was busy pitting the two against each other during the controversy. 

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