Serena Williams calls out Paris restaurant for 'denying access' to her family

Serena Williams has claimed she and her family were "denied access" to a high-end Parisian restaurant.

The tennis star, who is in the French capital after being a torch bearer at the Olympic Opening Ceremony, took to X to criticise the restaurant.

"Yikes @peninsulaparis I've been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places ... but never with my kids," she wrote. "Always a first."

Although the 42-year-old, who is travelling with her children Olympia, six, and Adira, almost one, didn't explicitly accuse the restaurant of racism, fans were quick to make the connection.

"You should claim racism and get someone fired," one person wrote. Another added, "It doesn't matter how much money you have. Racism doesn't care bro."

A staff member at the Peninsula's rooftop restaurant claimed Serena looked "unrecognisable" when she turned up to the high-end establishment with another woman and a stroller.

"When she came there were only two tables available and they had been reserved by clients of the hotel," she said. "My colleague didn't recognise her and feels terrible, but he told her what he would have told any other client, which is to wait downstairs in the bar for a table to become available. That was absolutely nothing personal."

The hotel responded to Serena's complaint, writing in response to her post, "Dear Mrs. Williams. Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight. Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L'Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved."