A defiant Serena Williams said she did not receive coaching during her US Open final loss to Japan's Naomi Osaka in her first interview since the controversy.
The 23-time grand slam winner has stayed silent since the on-court argument with chair umpire Carlos Ramos last week, which divided the tennis world.
Trailing in the second set, Williams received a game penalty for the verbal altercation at a change of ends where she called Ramos a "thief", after previous code violations for receiving coaching from the stands and smashing her racquet.
Serena Williams argues with chair umpire Carlos Ramos over his decision to deduct a game. Source: AAP
William’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou admitted to ESPN he had indeed been giving Williams instructions but believed she had not heard them as she had not looked in his direction.
In an interview with The Project, which will air on Sunday on Network Ten, Williams defended her initial claim that she was not being coached.
"He (Mouratoglou) said he made a motion,” Ms Williams said.
“I don’t understand what he was talking about. We’ve never had signals.”
Ms Williams also said women were treated differently to men on the tour.
“I just don’t understand. If you’re a female you should be able to do even half of what a guy can do,” she said.
Immediately following the loss, Williams claimed Ramos would not have deducted a game from a male tennis player for calling him a "thief".
She pointed to the code violation handed to Alize Cornet for changing her shirt on court earlier in the tournament as evidence of double standards within tennis.
Serena Williams of the US reacts during the final changeover. Source: AAP
"I can't sit here and say I wouldn't say he's a thief because I thought he took a game from me," she said.
"But I've seen other men call other umpires several things."
