Andy Roddick disappointed with magazine mistaking Serena Williams for Venus Williams
Andy Roddick was not happy with a famous magazine mistaking Serena Williams for Venus Williams while covering the latter's withdrawal from the 2023 Australian Open.
The older Williams sister was scheduled to take part in the Asia-Pacific Major as a wildcard but was forced to withdraw from the event due to a leg injury she suffered while competing at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Her place in the Grand Slam's main draw was awarded to Kimberly Birrell.
While covering the news on their website, a popular magazine mistakenly used an image of Serena instead of Venus. Andy Roddick took to social media to point out the error, tweeting:
"Who’s gonna tell them that’s not Venus?"
Who’s gonna tell them that’s not Venus? https://t.co/gqOCl8zISi
Several fans expressed their annoyance at the magazine mixing up the Williams sisters, with one calling the magazine shameless.
"All these years, and they still getting the Williams sisters mixed up. They are shameful," the fan's tweet read.
@andyroddick All these years, and they still getting the Williams sisters mixed up. They are shameful.
Another fan wrote:
"It’s weird and bad that news orgs constantly mix up the Williams sisters. Also worrisome that for this to be published it has to go through many checks and steps, so multiple failures."
@andyroddick It’s weird and bad that news orgs constantly mix up the Williams sisters. Also worrisome that for this to be published it has to go through many checks and steps, so multiple failures
One user opined:
"Very obvious that the community who writes about tennis knows zilch or very little about tennis. I mean basic info like who is who in the tennis world, if they can get a photo wrong, they can also write wrong info."
@andyroddick Very obvious that the community who writes about tennis knows zilch or very little about tennis. I mean basic info like who is who in the tennis world, if they can get a photo wrong, they can also write wrong info ☠️
Venus Williams started her 2023 season at ASB Classic
Venus Williams featured sporadically during the 2022 season as she only competed at Wimbledon and the American hardcourt season that followed.
However, the American started 2023 early by entering the ASB Classic in Auckland as a wildcard. She faced qualifier Katie Volynets in the first round and beat her 7-6(4), 6-2 to mark her first singles victory since the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
The 42-year-old faced China's Zhu Lin in the second round and started the match strongly by winning the first set 6-3. However, Zhu rallied back to win the second set 7-5 and force the match into a tiebreaker.
Both players broke each other in the third set and Williams found herself serving for the match at 5-4. However, she was unable to cash in and Zhu eventually went on to win 7-5 to book her place in the quarterfinals.
After missing the Australian Open, it will be interesting to see when Venus Williams returns to action.