Warriors star Stephen Curry is the latest public figure to defend Serena Williams after the tennis player got into a heated argument with a chair umpire during the final match of the U.S. Open. Serena Williams received widespread support from fans, media and celebrities alike after the incident, in which she called the ref a "thief" after he gave her three violations. Curry was asked about the situation during a tour of Asia with his sponsor Under Armour, and said that Williams handled it with "grace and class." "The way Serena handled the situation, I think she handled it with such grace and class," he told sports news outlet, Omnisport. "At the end of the day, I hope everybody celebrates Naomi [Osaka] because she is the U.S. Open champion, and that's pretty dope." RELATED: Tennis umpires reportedly considering boycott of Serena Williams matches Osaka defeated Williams 6-2, 6-4, and the chair umpire gave Williams a code violation during the second set for allegedly receiving coaching. He hit her with another violation after she smashed her racket, and then docked her a game after she confronted him. "I don't cheat, I didn't get coaching! How can you say that?" Williams asked the umpire. "I have never cheated in my life. I have a daughter and I stand for what's right for her, and I have never cheated. You owe me an apology!" MORE: Newspaper reprints controversial cartoon of Serena Williams Curry said athletes can eventually learn to control their emotions, but strong reactions are only natural. "It's tough, but with experience you understand how you can control your emotions and how you can stay focused on what the task at hand is — and that's just winning basketball games and not letting anything get in the way of that," he said. "You're going to have reactions. That's what sport is all about."<doc-sep>NBA star Stephen Curry has raised eyebrows online after saying Serena Williams acted with “grace and class” in her US Open final defeat to Naomi Osaka, during which she controversially clashed with the umpire. Williams, 36, suffered defeat to 20-year-old Osaka in New York on Saturday night, handing the Japanese player her first Grand Slam title. However, the match was largely overshadowed by Williams’ outbursts at umpire Carlos Ramos, during which she branded him a "thief" and a "liar," over code violations Ramos issued. Read more While the on-court clashes during the match drew booing from the crowd in support of Williams, she attempted to quell their anger during the presentation ceremony and direct attention to Osaka. Now, Golden State Warriors star Curry, who is friends with Williams and has shot commercials with her, saw no problem with the way the 23-time Grand Slam winner handled the situation. "I would say a championship match in terms of high-level talent on the court between those two ladies... obviously Naomi deserved to win and she played amazing," Curry told Omnisport. "The way Serena handled the situation, I think she handled it with such grace and class. At the end of the day, I hope everybody understands and celebrates Naomi because she's the US Open champion and that's pretty dope," Curry added. His claims over Williams’ behavior have prompted bemusement from some Twitter users, who have been left baffled by the 30-year-old's assessment of events. The only Grace& Class we saw was from Naomi, who was humble and even bowed to Serena, thanking her for playing. — Walter Van de Reck (@VanReck) September 12, 2018 yeah, those hysterics and accusations showed grace & class. — 🍕Dough-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Dough🍕 (@Chef_JohnDough) September 12, 2018 Steph curry is wrong — Timothy Gallagher (@winchesterizzy) September 12, 2018 haha grace and class? wtf ..Serena, although such GOAT player she is, acted like a spoiled brat — Joshi (@joshi_bp) September 11, 2018 She would have been ejected a long time before the end of her tantrum in a Baseball game. — Christopher Lee Dunn (@CLDUNN58) September 12, 2018 I missed that part! — SIPA (@SIPA1998) September 12, 2018 Steph Curry you are talking so much crap! — Zacharias A. (@ZachariasA5) September 12, 2018 No @StephenCurry30 , Serena Williams did not handle losing with grace and class. Quite the opposite really. She’s made a champion almost forgotten because of her petulant behaviour. And she’s not defending women. Look for her sketch about Mauresmo. That says it all. — Steve Davis (@stevemavis75) September 12, 2018 Thats grace and class? Utter rot. — Niall Healy (@Niallofcork) September 11, 2018 Williams was fined $17,000 for her series of outbursts, which began when she was handed a code violation for receiving coaching during the second set. Her coach, Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou, later admitted he had signaled to Williams from the stands, but said she had not seen him. Williams later smashed her racket and was docked a game for an outburst at Ramos stemming from her anger over the initial violation. READ MORE: Serena Williams’ history of petulance makes a mockery of her status as a role model Her claims of sexism drew support from prominent figures in the world of tennis, including Billie Jean King, as well as the WTA, although King said on Tuesday that Williams had been "out of line, there's no question."<doc-sep>
Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of the story misidentified the number of NBA championships Stephen Curry has won. He has won three. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry lent his support to Serena Williams in light of her controversial behavior in the US Open final that saw the tennis star spar with chair umpire Carlos Ramos and Naomi Osaka prevail for her first Grand Slam. Curry, who is friends with Williams and has shot several Chase Bank commercials alongside her, felt the 23-time Grand Slam winner displayed great sportsmanship in the loss. Williams consoled Osaka and asked the Flushing Meadows crowd to stop booing Osaka during Williams' runner-up speech. "The way Serena handled the situation, I think she handled it with such grace and class," Curry, a three-time NBA champion with the Warriors, told Omnisport on Tuesday. "At the end of the day, I hope everybody understands and celebrates Naomi because she's the U.S. Open champion and that's pretty dope." Williams received three code violations from Ramos, including for on-court coaching, breaking her racket and calling Ramos a "thief," which was given a full game penalty. At one point, Williams told Ramos, "You owe me an apology. I've never cheated in my life. ... I don't cheat to win. I'd rather lose." By the time Osaka won the match 6-2, 6-4, the crowd began to boo Ramos and the end result. After the match, Williams accused the umpire of being sexist in her postgame news conference. Her claim was supported by many in the tennis community — including the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and United States Tennis Association (USTA) — prompting several chair umpires to come to Ramos defense earlier this week, saying that he was going by the rules. (Editor's note: An earlier version stated Curry was a two-time NBA champion)