"If women and men were not separated by sex in sports, nobody ever would have heard of Serena Williams" - Ben Shapiro

Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro has taken a dig at Serena Williams, saying no one would have heard of the tennis legend if athletes were not separated by sex.

Shapiro was responding to an article in the Atlantic that claimed men have no biological advantage over women in athletics. He rubbished such claims and added that it was not sexist, but simply a fact of life.

"The Left is now arguing that we shouldn't separate sports by sex; they argue that men have no biological advantage over women in athletics," Shapiro said. "If women and men were not separated by sex in sports, nobody ever would have heard of Serena Williams. That's not sexism. It's reality."

He went on to say that Williams couldn't even compete with the 250th-ranked player on the ATP tour.

"Serena Williams can't compete with the 250th best man on the ATP circuit. So all those women on the WNBA you have not heard of, you would have more not heard of if they had been playing basketball with men," he added.

"If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this" - Serena Williams in her retirement announcement

Serena Williams thanks the fans after being defeated by Ajla Tomlijanovic at the 2022 US Open - Day 5

Serena Williams announced her retirement in a first-person essay for Vogue magazine in August.

Williams rued the fact that she had to choose between tennis and family and opined that she would continue to play if she was a man.

"Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family," she said. "I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family. Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity."

Williams clarified that she loved being a woman and being pregnant with her first child, although it got "super complicated."

"Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia. I was one of those annoying women who adored being pregnant and was working until the day I had to report to the hospital—although things got super complicated on the other side," she added.