ESPN 'should be embarrassed' as US Open fans slam Serena and Venus Williams graphic
ESPN 'should be embarrassed' as US Open fans slam Serena and Venus Williams graphic
Joseph McBride Fri, September 11, 2026 at 3:12 PM UTC
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US Open fans slammed ESPN for disrespecting Venus Williams -Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
ESPN is facing extreme backlash for airing a US Open graphic involving the Williams sisters that mistakenly showed two images of Serena and none of Venus.
The network was attempting to show the five American women of the Open era with the most victories in major singles matches before their 23rd birthday. Gauff was ranked fifth, with the Williams sisters occupying the top two places.
Gauff has until March to add to her tally, and a promising US Open run has already solidified her most consistent year across all Grand Slams. Although ESPN attempted to celebrate all five players, they ended up offending the Williams sisters and tennis fans with a failed graphic. It comes as Michelle Obama found out exactly what the US Open crowd thought of her during Jessica Pegula's match against Aryna Sabalenka.
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The graphic showed Venus Williams topping the list with 107 victories, helped by her professional career starting at just 14. Serena Williams was right behind on 103, followed by Mary Joe Fernandez (93), Chris Evert (90), and Gauff (89).
Although ESPN, which has broadcast the US Open, led with Venus's stunning record, she was not pictured. Instead, the graphic showed two pictures of Serena.
Fans instantly noticed the mistake and turned to social media to complain. "I think ESPN just threw up a graphic using two pictures of Serena???? Whoops," one fan wrote on X.
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'Please do better. This is unprofessional," another fan added. "For how bad ESPN is, they should be embarrassed over this," a third claimed.
ESPN used two images of Serena Williams and snubbed Venus in their graphic -Credit:ESPN
"The disrespect and lack of care or effort towards the Williams sisters or acknowledgment by random @espn associates who have never heard of these people," another fan commented.
"They need to hire people that actually watch and know tennis," one fan suggested. "I hope whoever was commenting on air called this out. Super lame," another user wrote.
The Williams sisters both received wildcards to play at the US Open this year, with Serena participating in two doubles competitions and Venus entering the singles draw. Venus lost in the first round against fellow wildcard Sofia Kenin, but then partnered with her sister for the women's singles.
Serena and Venus Williams didn't stick around for long at the US Open -Credit:Getty Images
It was the first time since 2022 that they'd shared the court together at the US Open, but their run didn't last long. When facing Maya Joint and Chan Hao-ching, the Williams sisters imploded and suffered a devastating loss.
After losing the opening set, the Williams sisters fought back to force a deciding set. That third set went to a tiebreak, and the Williams sisters held a 5-1 lead. However, they deteriorated on the verge of victory and were eliminated.
The Williams sisters then declined post-match media duties, upsetting fans who were eager to hear from them. Their plans for the 2027 season remain unknown.
It comes as an ESPN host was ruthlessly mocked after pronouncing US Open star's name as "Sausage."
Source: “AOL Sports”
