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Serena Williams took to social media to respond to the actions of the suspended Romanian Fed Cup captain after the former ATP World No.1 was suspended by the ITF for his behavior last week

Serena Williams has issued a strongly-worded Instagram post about suspended Romanian Fed Cup captain Ilie Nastase, as the former ATP World No.1 came under fire for repeated abusive conduct over the weekend.

In Monday's post, Williams - who recently announced she was pregnant - criticized Nastase for comments made about the ethnicity of her unborn child during a press conference on Friday.

She also referenced the abuse levelled by Nastase towards Great Britain's Johanna Konta and Anne Keothavong during their Fed Cup World Group II Play-off tie with Romania in Constanta at the weekend.

"It disappoints me to know that we live in a society where people like Ilie Nastase can make such racist comments towards myself and my unborn child, and sexist comments towards my peers," Williams wrote on Instagram. "I will continue to take a lead and stand up for what's right."

Nastase was removed from the court during Saturday's match between Konta and Sorana Cirstea following abusive conduct towards the British player, her captain Keothavong and match officials.

He had previously been overheard making a remark which referred to the race of Williams' unborn child during Friday's draw ceremony. Williams is black and her partner Alexis Ohanian is white.

In the post, Williams quotes "Still I Rise," a poem by the late Maya Angelou, which has held special signifcance in the World No.1's quest for history over the past year.

"Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom?...You may shoot me with your words...you may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise," Williams quoted in the post.

"I humbly thank the ITF for any consideration given to all the facts in this case," Williams concluded. "They will have my full support."

Nastase was provisionally suspended by the ITF from Fed Cup and ITF-sanctioned events on Sunday as the investigation continues.

Though Serena Williams is not playing Wimbledon and is busy bracing herself for her first child, she is watching her sister play at Wimbledon and admitted that watching her play is more nerve-wracking than actually playing.

"I'm as calm as a sister can be, which really isn't that calm," Serena said in a telephone interview with espnW. She insisted she doesn't yell at her television while watching. "It's hard to watch her because I know her so well, but she's been playing really well.

I'm so proud of her." "It's more nerve-wracking watching her because when I'm playing, it's all in my hands. It's up to me. But with her, I always want her to win and do great and it's out of my hands." The two usually talk after every match and text before it.

Venus is 2 matches away from a 6th Wimbledon title but Serena won’t comment on her chances. "Every tennis player knows just to focus on the task at hand," she said. "Don't get ahead of yourself, focus on one match at a time.

That's what she's doing and, even though I'm not playing, that's what I'm doing right now for her." While Serena admitted that she misses playing, she also expressed that she is in a very happy phase of life and will be back on court soon.

"If I see the ladies or the guys playing, I get totally excited and I think, 'I really miss it!' But I don't want to be there, only because I'm doing something I feel is just as important, if not much more important," she said.

"I really look forward to coming back. And I'll have time, it will be fun. But until then, I wouldn't trade this for any Grand Slam."

It would be normal to call it a career at almost 36, but that's not Serena's plan. 'It’s hard to figure out what the end of your tennis career should look like,' the 23-time Grand Slam champion said. 'I used to think I’d want to retire when I have kids, but no.

I’m definitely coming back. Walking out there and hearing the crowd, it may seem like nothing. But there’s no better feeling in the world.' In the last months another popular topic were John McEnroe's comments about Serena being world no.

700 is she played on the ATP Tour. Williams didn't obviously like it: 'Why the fixation on me playing dudes? It’s clear that men are stronger than women, and that’s just science. I’m very content to play on the women’s tour.

John’s unapologetic, he says what he thinks, and people respect that about him. God forbid I do it, though.' She is supposed to give birth in September, probably less than a month. 'I’m nervous about childbirth,' she admitted.

'I’m not a spring chicken. The one thing I really want is an epidural, which I know a lot of people are against, but I’ve had surgeries galore, and I don’t need to experience any more pain if I can avoid it.

But the biggest thing is that I don’t really think I’m a baby person. Not yet. That’s something I have to work on. I’m so used to me-me-me, taking care of my health, my body, my career. I always ask, Am I going to be good enough?'

Serena Williams is living the most emotional year in her life. The former World No. 1 gave birth her first daughter Alexis Olympia on September 1 and now she is expected to tie the knot with multimillionaire Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian on Thursday November 16, in a super secret location in New Orleans.

The wedding is expected to take place at night, and a babysitter will take care of little Olympia. According to DailyMail, stars like Beyonce, husband Jay Z and Kris Jenner are expected to attend the wedding, but also Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

'Serena and Alexis have spared no expense on their dream wedding', an insider told Daily Mail. 'They have hired the best of the best and can't wait to get married in The Big Easy. It's a special city for Serena and somewhere she has always loved.' The wedding could cost up to $1 million.

Serena Williams is set to make her tennis comeback at the Australian Open with her return to Melbourne for the season's opening Grand Slam "very likely".

Williams, 36, won this year's first Slam while pregnant, beating her sister Venus in the final, and gave birth to a baby girl in September.

She has not played competitively since Melbourne, raising questions over whether the 23-time Slam winner would attempt to defend her title next month and equal Australian Margaret Court's singles record of 24 major titles.

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But tournament director Craig Tiley is optimistic Williams will return for a crack at her seventh Melbourne Park crown after marrying Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian last month.

Serena married Alexis Ohanian (R) in November
Serena married Alexis Ohanian (R) in November
Tiley declared that Williams's return to tennis in Melbourne was "very likely".

"She's got her visa, she's entered, she's practising and she's probably just got to find a bit more space for a bigger entourage," he told Melbourne's Herald Sun.

"There's no question that she'll be ready in our view and she wants to break a record that is Margaret Court's. It would be a pretty significant accomplishment for her to be able to do that."


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Tiley described the Australian Open, which will be held from January 15-28, as a "family-friendly event".

"We've had this before. Roger Federer travels with his four kids and we are a family-friendly event," he said, referring to Williams and her baby.

Dyrektor Australian Open, Craig Tiley, poinformował, że w turnieju wystąpi Serena Williams. Amerykanka wróci po rocznej przerwie spowodowanej ciążą i będzie miała szansę wyrównać wieloletni rekord Margaret Court.
- Serena otrzymała już wizę, zgłosiła się do turnieju, a nawet rozpoczęła treningi. Jesteśmy pewni, że będzie gotowa na Australian Open i jej głównym celem będzie wyrównanie rekordu Margaret Court w liczbie wygranych turniejów wielkoszlemowych – powiedział australijskim mediom dyrektor imprezy, Craig Tiley.

Wspomniana Margaret Court w ciągu swojej kariery zdołała zdobyć 24 tytuły wielkoszlemowe. Młodszej z sióstr Williams nie tylko niewiele brakuje do wyrównania osiągnięcia Australijki, lecz także do pobicia jej rekordu – Serena ma na koncie 23 „szlemy”, a jak sama mówi - zamierza jeszcze trochę pograć.

36-latka nie występowała przez większą część sezonu 2017, a ostatnim jej turniejem był... Australian Open, który zresztą wygrała (po raz siódmy). Następnie wycofała się z rozgrywek z powodu ciąży. 1 września urodziła córeczkę Alexis Olympię, a 16 listopada poślubiła partnera i ojca dziecka, Alexisa Ohaniana. Tak długa przerwa spowodowała istotny spadek w światowym rankingu - aktualnie zajmuje w nim 22. pozycję.

Pierwszy w sezonie turniej wielkoszlemowy rozpocznie się 15 stycznia 2018 roku. Choć nie wiemy nic o aktualnej dyspozycji Sereny Williams, z pewnością będzie ona jedną z głównych faworytek do triumfu.