"Wouldn’t ask Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer to twirl": When Serena Williams contemplated whether male interviewer's controversial request was 'sexist'
Serena Williams once weighed in on the controversy that arose when a male interviewer asked her to twirl to show off her outfit at the Australian Open. As the American contemplated whether the request was sexist, she emphasized that Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal wouldn't face the same inquiry.
Williams entered the 2015 Australian Open as the top seed, in pursuit of her sixth title at the Melbourne Slam. The American made a strong start to her campaign, beating Alison Van Uytvanck 6-0, 6-4 in her opening match and claiming a commanding 7-5, 6-0 win over Vera Zvonareva in the second round.
Tennis Australia commentator Ian Cohen conducted Serena Williams' on-court interview after her triumph, asking the American to twirl for the audience to show off her outfit. Given that Cohen made the same request to Eugenie Bouchard after her second-round win, the tennis community on social media accused Cohen and Tennis Australia of sexism.
Williams shared her perspective on the controversy in her post-match press conference, asserting that Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal would never face such a request. However, the American refused to pass a judgment on whether Ian Cohen's request was "sexist."
"A commentator asked me to twirl. I wouldn’t ask Rafa or Roger to twirl. Whether it’s sexist or not, I don’t know. I can’t answer that," she said.
Although Serena Williams revealed that she didn't particularly want to twirl due to the unwanted attention it would bring, she emphasized that it wasn't an issue that needed to be looked into too deeply.
"I didn’t really want to twirl because I was just like, you know, I don’t need all the extra attention. But, yeah, it was fine. I don’t think and look that deep into it," Serena Williams said.
"Life is far too short to focus on that. We have so many other problems we want to deal with that we should focus on. Whether I twirl or not, it’s not the end of the world. It’s about being positive and just moving forward," she added.
Eugenie Bouchard, meanwhile, confessed that she was taken aback by Ian Cohen's "unexpected" request but found the humor in being asked to twirl by an "old guy."
"It was very unexpected. I mean, yeah, I don’t know. An old guy asking you to twirl, it was funny," Bouchard said.
How Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal fared at Australian Open 2015
Following her commanding wins over Alison Van Uytvanck and Vera Zvonareva, Serena Williams continued her stellar run at the 2015 Australian Open with a comeback win over Elina Svitolina. She then defeated Garbine Muguruza and Dominika Cibulkova to reach the semifinals of the Melbourne Slam.
Subsequently, the American claimed a 7-6(5), 6-2 win over Madison Keys to set up a blockbuster title clash against second seed Maria Sharapova. Serena Williams dominated the final, beating Sharapova 6-3, 7-6(5) to clinch her sixth Australian Open title.
On the men's side, second seed Roger Federer crashed out of the Major in the third round with a shock 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(5) loss to Andreas Seppi. No. 3 seed Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, made a run to the quarterfinals, where he suffered a resounding 6-2, 6-0, 7-6(5) defeat to Tomas Berdych.
Following Federer and Nadal's respective exits, top seed Novak Djokovic claimed his fifth Australian Open title by battling past Andy Murray 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0 in the final.