"Very disrespectful, insensitive, despicable and distasteful" - Tennis fans react to Serena Williams' comments on Texas school shooting 

Serena Williams' comments on the recent Texas shooting have received a lot of criticism.
Serena Williams' comments on the recent Texas shooting have received a lot of criticism.

Serena Williams' comments on the recent Texas school shooting have not gone down well with tennis fans who have taken to Twitter to call out the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

An 18-year-old male shooter opened fire at an elementary school in Ulvade, Texas on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, according to official reports. With celebrities all over America expressing their anger and sorrow at the incident, the former World No. 1 chimed in with her own opinion.

In addition to remarking that she was "heartbroken", Williams said she would pray for the victims. The 40-year-old went on to refer to a verse from the Bible - Matthew 6:10, in particular - talking about the 'Kingdom of God'.

"I have been truly heartbroken by these heinous shootings," Williams wrote. "I also Pray for God’s Kingdom to come, but until then we know we are living in times that are indeed “hard to deal with.”"

The American is a Jehovah's Witness, a religious group that sees the establishment of a 'Kingdom of God' as the only solution to all of humanity's problems.

Twitter users wasted no time lambasting the 23-time Grand Slam champion for her statements. They remarked that thoughts and prayers were not enough to console the families of the victims.

Many also directed their criticism at the American's choice of words. They added that it was distasteful of her to essentially pray for the death of millions of people.

"Serena Williams is a Jehovah’s Witness, which means she believes Armageddon will be coming any day now to kill all the non-JW’s and the earth will become a paradise with no gay people allowed. Just a fun fact!" one fan wrote.
"Very disrespectful, insensitive, despicable and distasteful - (Serena Williams) "literally believes that MORE children will be killed in Armageddon; asking people to pray for an event wherein God kills children, women, families, anyone who does not support “his kingdom,”" another fan tweeted.
"Serena you're a queen and you do you with religion but Bible verses and prayer aren't gonna solve issues in the world," another user posted.
"But Serena Williams, you believe soon God will bring armageddon and kill everyone who isn't a Jehovah's Witness, about 8 billion people. That's what God's kingdom is to JWs. So please explain how that will help those families who lost their children," another user tweeted.

Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King join Serena Williams in condemning shooting incident

Martina Navratilova joined Serena Williams in expressing her sorrow at the shooting incident.
Martina Navratilova joined Serena Williams in expressing her sorrow at the shooting incident.

Serena Williams is not the only tennis celebrity from the USA to express her condemnation of the Texas school shooting. Legends like Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King also took to Twitter to give their thoughts on the matter, calling for strict action against firearms.

"Our country has a terminal violence illness … so sad and for the most part preventable … just so sad. Register every damn gun out there or go to prison," Navratilova wrote.
"My heart breaks for the 18 elementary school children and 2 teachers who lost their lives in a horrific shooting today in TX. Many details are unknown, but one thing is clear: These shootings regularly happen in the U.S. & very rarely elsewhere. The time for action is now," King wrote.

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