Serena Williams Not Allowed to Give Speech After US Open Win; Fans React
Serena Williams, 30, may have won her fourth U.S. Open and 15th Grand Slam title on Sunday, but CBS did not allow the tennis star to finish her victory speech for the countless people watching her on television.
Williams was ranked fourth going into the match but she managed to best the number one player in the world, Victoria Azarenka. After the victor bested her opponent in three sets, she was granted a $1.9 million winner's check and briefly interviewed by tennis player turned sportscaster, Mary Carillo.
However, Williams seemed to be looking forward to issuing a victory speech.
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"Do I get to say anything else," Williams asked Carillo after receiving her check.
While Carillo told Williams, "one second," the tennis star never got her moment. Instead she was asked to take a photograph with Azarenka, and the CBS network chose to air a commercial.
After the program returned, Williams never got the opportunity to speak. Instead, a brief wrap-up of the match was given with a promotional plug for the men's U.S. Open final on Monday.
Fans seemed to notice that Williams was not given a proper victory speech.
"My homegirl Serena got KANYE'D," one person tweeted, referring to the moment when rapper Kanye West interrupted an acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards years ago.
Another person blamed advertisements for Williams' speech being cut short.
"CBS cuts Serena Williams' US Open victory speech so it can show adverts," the person tweeted. "Oh how I love American broadcasters."
However, USA Today seemed to uncover one reason for Williams' not being granted the opportunity to give a speech after winning big on Sunday. According to the publication, CBS likely had to adhere to the time constraints of their prime-time schedule.
The U.S. Open women's finals were supposed to take place on Saturday night, but they were moved to Sunday due to rain. Since CBS had to accommodate the schedule of the shows that were being affected by the tennis match taking a rain check on Saturday, the network rushed through its trophy presentation.
Still, Williams took to her Twitter to thank her supporters.
"Thank you guys. All of you," Williams tweeted after her big win. "(I) love each one of you deeply. 15 grand slams? #WinFromWithin."
