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| Photo: Serena Williams at Australian Open 2019. Credit: Getty imahes |
Williams started debate amid her misfortune to Naomi Osaka in September for her on-court conduct where she blamed the umpire for sexism and being a "hoodlum".
The Herald Sun paper and illustrator Mark Knight have reliably considered their portrayal a remark on Williams' conduct, denying it was bigot or misogynist.
The press watchdog said the paper had "adequate open enthusiasm for remarking on conduct and sportsmanship".
'Disgusting' portrayal
The cartoon went viral in September, drawing criticism globally. The National Association of Black Journalists in the US denounced it as "repugnant on many levels".
Public complaints centred around the portrayal of Williams with "large lips, a broad flat nose... and [being] positioned in an ape-like pose", said the watchdog.
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This contrasted with the depiction of Osaka, whose father is Haitian and mother Japanese, "as white with blonde hair".
The animation became a web sensation in September, drawing analysis all inclusive. The National Association of Black Journalists in the US censured it as "repulsive on numerous dimensions".
However, the watchdog decided that the animation did "not delineate Ms Williams as a primate, rather appearing as 'spitting the sham', a non-supremacist cartoon commonplace to most Australian perusers".
Spitting the dummy is an Australian colloquialism for someone who reacts to a situation in a bad-tempered or petulant manner.
Knight told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he was "very happy" about the watchdog's ruling. BBC reported.
The Australian Press Council is the chief watchdog for complaints about Australian media, but does not have the power to issue or enforce penalties.