Serena Williams did not appreciate John McEnroe’s comments about where she’d rank among men’s tennis players.
On Sunday, during an interview on NPR, McEnroe said Williams would rank “like 700” in the world if she played on the men’s circuit.
While McEnroe called Williams the greatest women’s player ever, he said she couldn’t match up physically with men.
On Monday, Williams issued a calm but forceful response.
Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 26, 2017
I've never played anyone ranked "there" nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I'm trying to have a baby. Good day sir
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 26, 2017
McEnroe, however, did not apologize for the comment.
On Tuesday, McEnroe appeared on "CBS This Morning" and said he didn't intend to cause a controversy with his remarks, then he retroactively ranked Williams the fifth-greatest player of all time.
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"It wasn'tnecessary.... I didn't know it would create controversy."-- John McEnroe on his Serena Williams comments pic.twitter.com/6YAPtZ80mp
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) June27, 2017
"It wasn'tnecessary.... I didn't know it would create controversy."-- John McEnroe on his Serena Williams comments pic.twitter.com/6YAPtZ80mp
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WATCH: John McEnroe *re-ranks*the worldâ¬"s best tennis players, ranking @SerenaWilliams at 5pic.twitter.com/l72JPrNDje
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) June27, 2017
WATCH: John McEnroe *re-ranks*the worldâ¬"s best tennis players, ranking @SerenaWilliams at 5pic.twitter.com/l72JPrNDje
McEnroe, 58, also estimated that he would be ranked 1,200th in the world if he were playing today.