NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams says she’s alarmed by the U.S. Tennis Association’s decision to hold a top junior player out of competition over concerns about her fitness.
Sixteen-year-old Taylor Townsend is the world’s top-ranked girl. The Wall Street Journal first reported last week that the USTA withheld funding tournament appearances while she focused on getting in better shape.
On Monday, a day after winning the U.S. Open, Williams said: “If that happened, that’s obviously a tragedy, because everyone deserves to play.”
She adds: “For a female, particularly, in the United States, in particular, and African-American, to have to deal with that is unnecessary.”
Townsend played at the Open, winning the junior doubles title and reaching the quarterfinals in singles.
