Serena Williams told Time's Sean Gregory she discovered her sister's killer was released on parole just before the worst loss of her career - a 6-1, 6-0 drubbing by Johanna Konta at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic on July 31.
"I couldn't shake it out of my mind," said Williams in the magazine's cover story. "It was hard because all I think about is (her sister's) kids, and what they meant to me. And how much I love them."
Following the loss to Konta in just 52 minutes, Williams alluded to a distraction.
"I have so many things on my mind I don't have time to be shocked about a loss that clearly wasn't at my best right now," Williams said at the time, according to Janie McCauley of The Associated Press.
Williams' older sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 2003. Robert Maxfield pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in 2006 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released on parole three years early.
