'Slap in the face': US Open player's coach in 'shock' defection to rival
A rude shock awaited Olympic tennis champion Monica Puig after her first round loss at the US Open, with the Puerto Rican star discovering after the match that she had been dumped by her coach.
Puig, the gold medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was defeated 6-3, 6-3 by Rebecca Peterson in the first round, but it was the defection of her coach, Kamau Murray, that left her in shock.
Murray reportedly ditched Puig to assist US star Sloane Stephens.
Speaking to tennis reporter Reem Abulleil, Puig said she only heard that her coach had left her from posts on social media, after her first-round exit.
“It came as a huge shock,” she said.
Monica Puig understandably devastated after her R1 loss.
"I wanted to prove to myself that nobody is going to be able to treat me this way in anything," she said, referring to her ex-coach Kamau Murray. "To give, & to receive a slap in the face, it's hard" https://t.co/6bCkObX9Nj— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) August 26, 2019
"I wanted to prove to myself *at the US Open) that nobody is going to be able to treat me this way in anything.
"To give and to receive a slap in the face, it's hard."
Serena Williams, husband cause day one stir
Serena Williams’ husband has caused a stir at the US Open with what appears to be a thinly-veiled swipe at Maria Sharapova.
Alexis Ohanian was in attendance on Monday as Serena blitzed Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 in just 59 minutes.
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It was Serena’s 19th-straight win over her long-time rival, and would have been particularly sweet considering their history.
Speaking of history, Ohanian appeared to reference Sharapova’s with the T-shirt he was wearing.
OK this is amusing, up there with Kim Sears’ “parental advisory” shirt.
For non-Americans, D.A.R.E. is Drug Abuse Resistence Education. https://t.co/yWBQDdg7jh— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) August 27, 2019
Ohanian wore a shirt with ‘D.A.R.E’ on the front - short for Drug Abuse Resistance Education.
Many took it as a dig at Sharapova, who was infamously banned from tennis in 2016 after testing positive to a banned substance.