Serena Williams has blasted John McEnroe for doubting her talent.
Serena Williams
The 35-year-old sportswoman - who is expecting her first child with fiance Alexis Ohanian - wasn't impressed when the retired tennis ace insisted she wouldn't do so well if she was pitted against male players.
John was talking to National Public Radio's Lulu Garcia-Navarro at the weekend when he disputed claims Serena could be regarded as the overall best player in the world.
He said: "Well because if she was in, if she played the men's circuit she'd be like 700 in the world.
"That doesn't mean I don't think Serena is an incredible player. I do, but the reality of what would happen would be, I think, something that perhaps it'd be a little higher, perhaps it'd be a little lower."
In response, Serena criticised John for his comments, while maintaining she still "adores and respects" the sporting icon.
She tweeted: "Dear John. I adore and respect you but please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.
"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 revealed her pregnancy earlier this year when she took to Snapchat to post a photo of herself with the caption "20 weeks", but recently revealed the photo was a mistake and she didn't mean to make it public.
She said: "Well, actually it was an accident. I was on vacation just taking some time for myself and I have this thing where I've been checking my status and taking pictures every week to see how far along I'm going.
"I didn't tell a lot of people to be quite honest and I'd been saving it. And you know how social media is when you press the wrong button ... and [there it was]."
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