Serena Williams Found Out Her Sister's Killer Had Been Freed Minutes Before Johanna Konta Loss
Serena Williams said she discovered that the man convicted of killing her half-sister had been released on parole just moments before her match against Johanna Konta last month.
British player Konta beat the 23-time Grand Slam champion in the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose - the worst defeat in Williams' career- on 30 July.
'I couldn't shake it out of my mind,' the 36-year-old sports star told Time. 'No matter what, my sister is not coming back for good behaviour.
'It's unfair that she'll never have an opportunity to hug me. It was hard because all I think about is her kids - what they meant to me and how much I love them.
Williams' elder half-sister Yetunde Price was shot dead in 2003 aged 31.
Family day yesterday. @olympiaohanian was not having it though. @serena collection top.
A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Jun 8, 2018 at 7:18am PDT
'I would like to practise what I preach, and teach [daughter] Olympia that as well. I want to forgive. I have to get there. I'll be there.'
Price - the daughter of Williams' mother Oracene Williams from her former marriage to late Yusef A.K. Rasheed - was shot dead in Compton, Los Angeles, where the Williams family used to live. Her children were 11, nine, and five at the time.
Robert Maxfield was jailed for 15 years in April 2006 , and Williams attended the sentencing.
The tennis champion returned to the women's tour after giving birth to Olympia last September, and breastfed for the first eight months.
A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Jul 28, 2018 at 4:05pm PDT
She revealed that her coach Patrick Mouratoglou told her to stop breastfeeding when she arrived for training, and admitted it was 'hard to take from a guy'.
'He's not a woman, he doesn't understand that connection, that the best time of the day for me was when I tried to feed her,' the athlete recalled.
She said she eventually listened to him in the end to 'get her body back'.
Speaking previously about the difficulties of balancing work with her family life, Williams said: 'It's totally normal to feel like I’m not doing enough for my baby. We have all been there. I work a lot, I train, and I’m trying to be the best athlete I can be.
'However, that means although I have been with her every day of her life, I’m not around as much as I would like to be. Most of you mums deal with the same thing. Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes.'
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