Serena Williams Slams Indian Wells CEO's "Very Inaccurate," Sexist Remarks

"Obviously, I don't think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that," she said

Serena Williams wasn't going to let Raymond Moore get away with the sexist remarks he made before the BNP Paribas Open finals Sunday.

The Indian Wells CEO participated in a media session before the matches commenced and said that female tennis players should "thank God" men exist in the sport or else they wouldn't have the opportunity to play. "No, I think the WTA [Women's Tennis Association]—you know, in my next life when I come back I want to be someone in the WTA (laughter) because they ride on the coattails of the men," he said.

"They don't make any decisions and they are lucky. They are very, very lucky. If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank god that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport. They really have."

He later apologized in a statement.

Following Williams' defeat in the final against Victoria Azarenka, the tennis pro was asked what she thought of his comments.

"Obviously, I don't think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that. I think Venus [Williams], myself, a number of players have been—if I could tell you every day how many people say they don't watch tennis unless they're watching myself or my sister, I couldn't even bring up that number. So I don't think that is a very accurate statement," she said, per ESPN.

"I think there is a lot of women out there who are more...are very exciting to watch. I think there are a lot of men out there who are exciting to watch. I think it definitely goes both ways. I think those remarks are very much mistaken and very, very, very inaccurate."

Williams was also asked if she thought his comments could have been taken out of context or misconstrued. "Well, if you read the transcript, you can only interpret it one way. I speak very good English. I'm sure he does too," she said. "You know, there's only one way to interpret that. Get on your knees, which is offensive enough, and thank a man, which is not—we, as women, have come a long way. We shouldn't have to drop to our knees at any point."