Olympic champ reveals 'upsetting' run-in with 'mean' Serena Williams

Claressa Shields says an ‘upsetting’ meeting with Serena Williams made her stop idolising the tennis legend.

The world boxing champion has spoken out about Serena’s controversial US Open meltdown, lifting the lid on the first time she met her at the 2016 Olympics.

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Shields, who currently holds the WBA and IBF middleweight belts, admitted she stopped idolising the ‘mean’ and ‘unfriendly’ tennis star after their run-in in Rio.

“One (idol) used to be Serena Williams,” Shields said, according to the Detroit Free Press.

“I was able to meet Serena at the 2016 Olympics. She was just not nice. For me to look up to her like I did when I was a kid and then meet her in person and see how she’s not fan-friendly, that was upsetting.”

Shields made history by defending her London 2012 gold medal in Rio, becoming the first US boxer to win back-to-back Olympic gold.

But the 23-year-old said she was left extremely disappointed after being snubbed by Serena.

“She was kind of mean to a lot of people at the Olympics and just kind of made me not want to be like her,” Shields said.

“Because I’m different. I’m a fan of her being a great athlete, just not a fan of her as a person, if that makes sense?”

Serena ends 2018 season on controversial note

Serena has officially wrapped up her 2018 season.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion has withdrawn from the China Open in Beijing next week, which was set to be her final tournament of the year.

The decision to withdraw, though, likely has little to do with the ending to her controversial match at the US Open.

This year marks the fourth-straight that the 37-year-old has declined to play in a tournament following the U.S Open, making it almost a routine move for her at this point.

She has not played since she fell to Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4, and was assessed three code of conduct violations in the match.

Williams repeatedly argued with the umpire who assessed the penalties, and later said that they were unfair and only assessed because she is a woman.

with Yahoo Sports US