"She's making you crack up all the time" - When Serena Williams could not stop laughing while being interviewed by good friend Prakash Amritraj
Serena Williams often makes some interesting quips and lets her funny side come to the fore during interviews. In one of the funniest interactions that she has been a part of, the American great simply could not stop laughing when she was being interviewed by former player and current tennis broadcaster Prakash Amritraj, who is also her good friend.
The moment occurred during the 2019 Italian Open when Williams returned to the tour after an almost two-month break. Amritraj caught up with the 23-time Grand Slam champion on the sidelines for an interview with Tennis Channel and asked her about her knee injury and her mindset going into the tournament. Before she could even start answering the question, Williams began laughing uncontrollably, in turn drawing laughter from Amritraj.
Williams then said that she found it funny to be in a serious interview with Amritraj as they have been friends for a long time.
"I've known him forever, this is tough," Serena Williams said while still chuckling.
Amritraj later opened up about the fun and memorable moment and also went on to speak about a lesser-known aspect of Williams' personality. The Indian-American tennis star joked that he was rendered unable to stay professional throughout the interview despite trying his best. He then highlighted that Williams is an extremely fun person to be around off the court as she is usually very jolly and makes everyone "crack up all the time."
"I'm trying to be as professional as I possibly can," Amritraj said on a show for the Tennis Channel, looking back at the interview.
"But the problem is, we've had so many fun times together. Look, what you're seeing there from Serena is so much of what you get from her in a nutshell when she's not having that warrior-goddess armor she has on when she's on the court. She's the one making you crack up all the time," he added.
Serena Williams and Prakash Amritraj had a sequel to the hilarious Italian Open incident at Canadian Open
Prakash Amritraj interviewed Serena Williams again after the hilarious incident at the Italian Open, this time at the Canadian Open in Toronto a couple of years ago. Amritraj took to social media to share his interaction with Williams, revealing that he again tried to be as professional as he could but failed to do so yet again as the 23-time Grand Slam champion successfully made him laugh.
"@serenawilliams: *Let’s see if I can get P to crack up. Me: *Don’t look at her, TRYYY to be professional! Serena succeeds; Prakash fails miserably. Always love seein’ my girl," Amritraj wrote on Instagram back in 2019.
Prakash Amritraj is the son of Indian tennis great Vijay Amritraj. During his time on tour, he achieved a career-high ATP ranking of no. 154 in singles and no. 119 in doubles. His best result at a Grand Slam was a third-round appearance in the doubles event at Wimbledon in 2009. He has been working as a tennis reporter for Tennis Channel since 2016.