Wimbledon champion Serena Williams said on Saturday she was concerned about the safety of her nephews in the United States after two black men were shot dead by police and five law enforcement officers were killed in an assault in Dallas.
The 34-year-old, whose elder half-sister Yetunde Price died in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 2003, was asked about the violence back home shortly after winning her seventh Wimbledon singles crown and 22nd grand slam singles title.
The shooting of two men in Louisiana and Tennessee this week led to a protest march in Dallas where a lone gunman opened fire killing five police and injuring seven.
"I feel anyone in my color in particular is of concern. I do have nephews that I'm thinking, 'do I have to call them and tell them, don't go outside. If you get in your car, it might be the last time I see you?'" Williams told reporters.
"That is something that I think is of great concern because it will be devastating. They're very good kids. I don't think that the answer is to continue to shoot our young black men in the United States. It's just unfortunate.
"Also, obviously violence is not the answer of solving it. The shooting in Dallas was very sad. No one deserves to lose their life, doesn't matter what color they are, where they're from. We're all human."
Williams, arguably the world's most famous female athlete said the current tension in the United States was "very painful".
"We have to learn that we have to love one another. It's going to take a lot of education and a lot of work, I think, to get to that point," she said.
"But I think, in general, the entire situation is extremely sad, especially for someone like me."
Authorities on Friday named Micah Johnson, a former U.S. Army reservist who served in Afghanistan, as the lone gunman responsible for Thursday's sniper attacks, which shattered an otherwise peaceful protest denouncing the two fatal police shootings earlier in the week.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Gareth Jones)