Australian newspaper challenges critics, reissues Serena Williams design

SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian newspaper challenged international critics and allegations of racism on Wednesday by covering a controversial caricature featuring US tennis star Serena Williams in the United States.

The Herald Sun, owned by News Corp (NWSA.O), published for the first time the Williams caricature with exaggerated lips and tongue and curly hair coming up from the top of her head as she trampled Monday on her tennis racket.

The picture sparked many allegations of racism against illustrator Mark Knight. The Sun and Knight Herald denies that drawing is racist.

Despite indignation, the newspaper republished the caricature alongside unflattering cartoons by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, attempting to portray the controversy as an effort to restrict freedom of expression.

"If Mark Knight's self-proclaimed censors rely on his Serena Williams drawing, our new politically correct life will be very boring," the newspaper wrote in an editorial on the front page.

Herald Sun editor Damon Johnston extended the defense on Twitter by denying any racism or sexism.

"Rightly, a tennis legend mocks bad behavior," tweeted Johnson.

However, drawing has always attracted a lot of criticism, especially online. Knight said that he had received death threats against his family since the publication of the cartoon, forcing him to suspend his Twitter account.

The caricature fueled a global debate over Williams' controversial defeat against Japan's Naomi Osaka in the women's US final on Saturday in New York.

Williams, competing with Australia's Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles, lost in two sets following a clash with chair referee Carlos Ramos.

The incident divided the tennis community. Novak Djokovic, the American men's champion in Open, criticized Ramos, while the court supported the use of the penalty for violation of code.

Williams, who was fined $ 17,000 for the three violations of the code, said that after the game, male players were subject to a lower standard of court conduct.

"I'm fighting for women's rights and women's equality," Williams told a news conference.