An Australian cartoonist has been widely criticised for his "racist and sexist" depiction of tennis star Serena Williams's US Open outburst.
During Sunday's (NZ time) final, which she lost 6-2 6-4 to Japan's Naomi Osaka, Williams was handed a coaching violation and a point penalty for breaking her racquet, before a heated argument with umpire Carlos Ramos ended with her losing a game.
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Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight has produced a parody of those events, showing a furious Williams stomping on her racket with a baby's dummy on the court beside her. In the background chair umpire Carlos Ramos is seen asking her opponent Naomi Osaka, "Can you just let her win?".
Famous British author J.K Rowlings took aim at Williams on social media, calling the cartoon both "racist and sexist".
"Well done on reducing one of the greatest sportswomen alive to racist and sexist tropes and turning a second great sportswoman into a faceless prop," Rowlings wrote.
It's also drawn the ire of the America's National Association of Black Journalists, who deemed it "unnecessarily sambo-like".
"The art of editorial cartooning is a visual dialogue on the issues of the day, yet this cartoon grossly inaccurately depicts two women of colour at the US Open, one of the grandest stages of professional sports," it said in a statement.
Many have also taken exception with Knight's portrayal of Williams' Japanese-Haitian opponent, Naomi Osaka, as a busty, blonde white woman.
Knight defended the cartoon in a reply to another user, pointing to a piece he'd drawn depicting male Australian tennis bad-boy Nick Kyrgios.
"Don't bring gender into it when it's all about behaviour," he wrote in a tweet.
Williams later apologised for her on-court meltdown, during which she called Ramos a "thief".
The tournament referee's office later fined the former world number one US$10,000 (NZ$15,298) for the "verbal abuse" of Ramos, US$4000 (NZ$6119) for being warned for coaching and US$3000 (NZ$4589) for smashing her racket.
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