Serena Williams, 31, became furious on Wednesday when she was knocked out of the Australian Open by U.S. teen Sloane Stephens, 19, causing her to vehemently destroy her racket on the tennis court that prompted a code violation by officials for her outburst.
Williams said it was a series of injuries that she said contributed to what was a surprising loss after being seeded 3rd in the Australian Open tournament.
It was on Tuesday when Williams said she turned her right ankle during her opening match and then injured her back when trying to retrieve a drop shot.
“I think the ankle started everything up the chain because I’m compensating and maybe it made my back hurt,” Williams said on Wednesday. “A few days ago it just got really tight and I had no rotation on it. I went for this drop shot in the second set and it just locked up on me. I even screamed on the court. It was a little painful.”
Concerning her outburst of anger on the court, it isn't the first time Williams has lost her cool. Back in 2009 when Williams lost a match against Kim Clijsters in the U.S. Open. She made an outburst at a line-judge who called a foot fault then made a gesture to the line judge's throat and smashed her racket. It was that incident that caused Williams to be docked giving Clijsters a free pass to the final.
Then it was during her last grand slam defeat in Paris during the French Open against Virginie Razzano when she again made an outburst along with a another racket smash that earned her a $1,500 fine.
Williams was hoping to win the Australian Open for a sixth time and land a 16th grand slam title.
In her career the tennis star has won five Australian Open titles, won five Wimbledons, a U.S. Opens triumph along with one French Open win. She is currently trying to establish herself as the greatest female tennis player ever by chasing down Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 titles.
Today's loss ends a run of 20 consecutive wins since her loss at the French Open Grand Slam tournament.
Video - Watch Williams angry outburst after her quarterfinal loss to Sloane Stephens.
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