Serena Williams Had The Best Response To Question About Her U.S. Open Bathroom Break
Serena Williams continues to prove that there's no need to rush into retirement. In her latest appearance at the US Open, she's left no question as to whether or not she's still "got it." The 40-year-old champion faced off with the No. 2 seed, Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, in the second round of the tournament. According to ESPN, approximately 2.7 million viewers watched the battle on its network, and a record number of tennis fans attended in person.
It was certainly worth watching. The competitive players duked it out for all three sets, with Williams taking the first in a tie-breaker and Kontaveit decisively winning the second. Kontaveit seemed to have the momentum, with some questioning Williams' ability to win in the third set, but she pulled it off, flipping the score and taking the match with a 6-2 showing, according to CNN.
When asked how she managed to pull it off, Williams didn't mince words. "Well ... I'm a pretty good player," she said, per CBS Sports. Others had a different theory, looking to the bathroom break Williams took right before the final set. When questioned about it, the tennis star had the perfect response.
Serena Williams shut down a reporter's question about her bathroom break
"King Richard," the movie about the Williams family and their rise, featured a scene in which Venus Williams was leading in her match, and then becomes thrown off by her opponent taking a leave of absence. Venus recalled to USA Today, "She took a bathroom break and I fell apart." After a 6-2 win in the first set, Venus lost the next two. In her post-match press conference, Serena Williams was questioned by a reporter about a bathroom break she took at a key point in the match against Anett Kontaveit. According to the Daily Mail, they asked if there was anything she did to help focus heading into the final set.
Serena made clear that her trip to the locker room was not strategic, facing the question with her signature wit and charm. "Yeah, no. I just got lighter," she said. "Use your imagination." She was quick to clarify for the crowd that it was not a "number two" that helped her to defeat No. 2 Kontaveit.
As reported by ESPN, the match took nearly two-and-a-half hours to complete, so a bathroom break seems perfectly reasonable. Still, the funny anecdote and question response brings a whole new meaning to "Flushing Meadows" — the site of the famous tournament.