section_path: Professional career/2018: Return to tennis, Wimbledon, and controversies
section_name: 2018: Return to tennis, Wimbledon, and controversies
paragraph_text: 2018: Return to tennis, Wimbledon, and controversies
  
  On January 5, 2018, Williams withdrew from the upcoming Australian Open, citing a lack of sufficient preparation in the wake of her pregnancy. In February, after overcoming pregnancy-related health problems, she returned to the tennis court with Venus. The pair lost to Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in the first round of the Fed Cup. Williams then suffered back-to-back early exits in Indian Wells and Miami. Williams returned to Grand Slam tennis at the 2018 French Open, playing singles and doubles with her sister. In the first round, she defeated Kristýna Plíšková, then overcame Ashleigh Barty in the second round. She then defeated 11th seed Julia Görges to set up a fourth-round match against Sharapova, whom she had bested 18 consecutive times since 2004. Williams withdrew from the match due to an injury, however.
  
  In July, she played Wimbledon and was seeded No.25. Many felt the decision showed bias and unduly favored Williams, who was ranked No.181. Others argued that the All England Club, which does not base seedings on players' world rankings—as other Grand Slam tournaments do—had sensibly considered Williams's excellent historic record at Wimbledon. Williams reached the Wimbledon semifinals, becoming the lowest-ranked player to do so. She bested 13th seed Görges in the semifinal match, but lost to Kerber in a rematch of the 2016 final. Following Wimbledon, Williams entered the 2018 Silicon Valley Classic, her first appearance in a US Open series tournament since 2015. She suffered the worst loss of her career in the first round, winning just a single game against Johanna Konta. Williams later revealed in an interview with Time that she checked Instagram prior to the match, and discovered that the man who had murdered her half-sister, Yetunde, in 2003 had been released on parole earlier in the year. Williams said she "couldn't shake it out of mind."
  
  Williams's next tournament was the Cincinnati Masters. She beat Daria Gavrilova in straight sets in the first round, but lost to Petra Kvitová in the second round. She was then seeded 17th at the US Open, although ranked 26th in the WTA. She prevailed over Magda Linette in the first round, Carina Witthöft in the second, Venus in the third, and Kaia Kanepi in the fourth. Williams's quarterfinal face-off against Karolína Plíšková was a rematch of the 2016 US Open semifinal, which the Czech player had won. Williams prevailed, notching her first win against a top 10 player since her return from pregnancy. Williams then won her semifinal match against Anastasija Sevastova, putting her into the final against Naomi Osaka. During the second set of the match, Williams was given a code violation because her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, gave her coaching hand signals. Williams claimed Mouratoglou was simply giving her a thumbs-up, and demanded an apology from umpire Carlos Ramos. However, Mouratoglou later admitted in the after-game interview that he had been coaching, but believes Williams did not understand the hint. Williams then received a second violation for racket abuse, which resulted in a point penalty. After her third code violation for verbal abuse of the umpire, Williams received a game penalty, and went on to lose the match. She was fined a total of $17,000 for the three offenses, although she claimed she was treated unfairly because she is a woman.
  
  Following the US Open final match, the Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun published a cartoon by Mark Knight depicting Williams throwing a tantrum while the umpire asks her opponent to "just let her win". The cartoon was widely criticized as racist and sexist, including by Williams's husband, Alexis Ohanian, and author J. K. Rowling. Complaints centered on the portrayal of Williams as an angry black woman with exaggeratedly large lips and a broad, flat nose; the depiction of Williams in an ape-like pose; and the rendering of Osaka with blonde hair (only some of her hair was colored blonde during the tournament). Knight defended his work, claiming his satire was never about race or gender, but rather about shining a spotlight on bad behavior by sports superstars.
  
  On January 5, 2018, Williams withdrew from the upcoming Australian Open, citing a lack of sufficient preparation in the wake of her pregnancy. In February, after overcoming pregnancy-related health problems, she returned to the tennis court with Venus. The pair lost to Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in the first round of the Fed Cup. Williams then suffered back-to-back early exits in Indian Wells and Miami. Williams returned to Grand Slam tennis at the 2018 French Open, playing singles and doubles with her sister. In the first round, she defeated Kristýna Plíšková, then overcame Ashleigh Barty in the second round. She then defeated 11th seed Julia Görges to set up a fourth-round match against Sharapova, whom she had bested 18 consecutive times since 2004. Williams withdrew from the match due to an injury, however.
  
  In July, she played Wimbledon and was seeded No.25. Many felt the decision showed bias and unduly favored Williams, who was ranked No.181. Others argued that the All England Club, which does not base seedings on players' world rankings—as other Grand Slam tournaments do—had sensibly considered Williams's excellent historic record at Wimbledon. Williams reached the Wimbledon semifinals, becoming the lowest-ranked player to do so. She bested 13th seed Görges in the semifinal match, but lost to Kerber in a rematch of the 2016 final. Following Wimbledon, Williams entered the 2018 Silicon Valley Classic, her first appearance in a US Open series tournament since 2015. She suffered the worst loss of her career in the first round, winning just a single game against Johanna Konta. Williams later revealed in an interview with Time that she checked Instagram prior to the match, and discovered that the man who had murdered her half-sister, Yetunde, in 2003 had been released on parole earlier in the year. Williams said she "couldn't shake it out of mind."
  
  Williams's next tournament was the Cincinnati Masters. She beat Daria Gavrilova in straight sets in the first round, but lost to Petra Kvitová in the second round. She was then seeded 17th at the US Open, although ranked 26th in the WTA. She prevailed over Magda Linette in the first round, Carina Witthöft in the second, Venus in the third, and Kaia Kanepi in the fourth. Williams's quarterfinal face-off against Karolína Plíšková was a rematch of the 2016 US Open semifinal, which the Czech player had won. Williams prevailed, notching her first win against a top 10 player since her return from pregnancy. Williams then won her semifinal match against Anastasija Sevastova, putting her into the final against Naomi Osaka. During the second set of the match, Williams was given a code violation because her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, gave her coaching hand signals. Williams claimed Mouratoglou was simply giving her a thumbs-up, and demanded an apology from umpire Carlos Ramos. However, Mouratoglou later admitted in the after-game interview that he had been coaching, but believes Williams did not understand the hint. Williams then received a second violation for racket abuse, which resulted in a point penalty. After her third code violation for verbal abuse of the umpire, Williams received a game penalty, and went on to lose the match. She was fined a total of $17,000 for the three offenses, although she claimed she was treated unfairly because she is a woman.
  
  Following the US Open final match, the Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun published a cartoon by Mark Knight depicting Williams throwing a tantrum while the umpire asks her opponent to "just let her win". The cartoon was widely criticized as racist and sexist, including by Williams's husband, Alexis Ohanian, and author J. K. Rowling. Complaints centered on the portrayal of Williams as an angry black woman with exaggeratedly large lips and a broad, flat nose; the depiction of Williams in an ape-like pose; and the rendering of Osaka with blonde hair (only some of her hair was colored blonde during the tournament). Knight defended his work, claiming his satire was never about race or gender, but rather about shining a spotlight on bad behavior by sports superstars.