Serena Williams was recently involved in a sports controversy and NBA star Stephen Curry had commented about it. He came to the defense of the female tennis player after her loss at the US Open Women's Final against 20-year-old Naomi Osaka.
Golden State Warriors' ace player, who is known for being Williams' friend, commended the tennis player for the sportsmanship following her loss. According to People, the championship fight between the two women happened on Saturday. It started with a controversial verbal altercation between Williams and chair umpire Carlos Ramos.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion received three separate on-court violations. The above-mentioned source revealed Williams was penalized for illegal coaching, verbal abuse, breaking the racket, and eventually accusing Ramos' actions as sexism.
Osaka claimed her very first grand slam win and "Boos" came down from the audience. Williams then told them, "Let us give everyone the credit where credit is due, and let us not boo anymore. Congratulations, Naomi."
Curry believed the way Serena Williams the situation has grace and class. He told Omnisport during his tour in Asia with Under Armour. The 30-year-old NBA champion explained that the reactions people saw from Williams are part of the game, most especially for the athletes playing in such high level. However, controlling the emotions is definitely the difficult part.
He said, "It is tough. But with experience, you understand how you can control your emotions and how you can stay focused on what the task at hand is." The main focus is just to win basketball games and not let anything get in the way. Curry also emphasized how there will always be reactions because that's what sports are about.
Naomi Osaka reacts
Despite the surrounding scandal, Japan's very own Naomi Osaka told People the only thing she wants is to make her country proud. She hopes that people in the country she represents, Japan, are happy. Several celebrities congratulate Osaka with her victory following the match, and Stephen Curry was one of them.
In his interview with Omnisport, Curry believed Osaka deserves to win as she did play amazing during the match. He added that everybody would hopefully understand and instead, celebrate with Naomi. After all, she is now the US Open Champion.
Williams embraced Osaka with open arms despite her defeat. This only show how she remained sport with the situation. A fine of $17,000 was charged to Williams due to her on-court actions. Some umpires are reportedly considering boycotting her unless she apologizes to Ramos.
