"We've missed this type of shade" - Venus Williams' remarks on Camila Giorgi after Birmingham win delights tennis fans

Tennis fans were thrilled with Venus Williams subtly criticising Camila Giorgi following their match in the first round of the 2023 Rothesay Classic in Birmingham.

By winning the match, Williams marked her first top 50 victory in almost four years. She defeated Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) in a grueling contest that lasted three hour and 17 minutes. This win was also the joint 13th longest match of 2023 so far.

During the match, when the score was 4-3 (40-30), the former World No. 1 slipped and fell to the ground while returning a ball. Despite the fall, Giorgi continued to play and ultimately won the point, even celebrating it. However, this behavior was deemed unsportsmanlike by many fans and received severe criticism.

During the on-court post-match interview, Venus Williams expressed her satisfaction in emerging victorious. She also shared her surprise that the Italian wasn't the World No. 1. This comment, while subtle, was noticed by fans who were delighted by the shade thrown towards Camila Giorgi.

"I thought I played so well today and she also played incredible. I'm so surprised she isn't number one in the world. There were so many moments when I thought this match is over and she would hit a shot out of nowhere," she said.

Tennis fans took to Twitter to express their elation upon hearing Williams' comments on Giorgi. One fan wrote that the American chose "veiled violence" that day.

"Venus woke up today and choose veiled violence!" a fan tweeted.

Another fan wrote that Venus Williams' delivery while throwing shade was immaculate.

"Venus’ delivery when she’s shading people >>>" the fan tweeted.

Here are a few more reactions from fans:

---

"I couldn't move as well as I wanted but I tried to get to every ball that I could" - Venus Williams

Venus Williams at the 2023 Rothesay Classic Birmingham

Following her victory against Camila Giorgi, Venus Williams explained that she had experienced discomfort in her leg during the third game. Despite that, she persevered and attempted to push through the pain. Williams also stated that her mobility on the court was hindered but she tried to get to every ball.

"I got to a great start, my leg started hurting in the third game, I was like 'Oh no, not this.' It was really hard to control my emotions to be honest and eventually I just acclimated to what I was going through and tried to ignore it," the American said.

"I couldn't move as well as I wanted but I tried to hit every ball that I could."

This was Williams' second victory of the year. Prior to this, the former World No. 1 participated in the ASB Classic in Auckland where she advanced to the second round after defeating Katie Volynets 7-6 (4), 6-2. Unfortunately, she then lost 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 to Zhu Lin.

Venus Williams will next take on either second seed Jelena Ostapenko or Linda Noskova in the second round of the Rothesay Classic.