Serena Williams hits out at coach

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Serena Williams claimed she did not understand why her coach admitted giving her instructions from the sidelines during her controversial US Open women's final.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion lost in straight sets to Naomi Osaka in a bizarre final, where she received three code violations after a fiery confrontation with chair umpire Carlos Ramos.

In an interview with The Sunday Project on Australia's Network Ten, Williams denies she was being coached from the stands, despite her coach Patrick Mouratoglou saying he was sending her signals.

"I just don't understand what [coach Patrick Mouratoglou] was talking about because I asked him, you weren't coaching, we don't have signals, we've never had signals," she said.

Serena Williams argues with chair umpire Carlos Ramos while playing Naomi Osaka during their 2018 US Open final on September 9. /VCG Photo

"He said he made a motion. So I was like 'you made a motion and now you told people that you're coaching me. That doesn't make sense, why would you say that?

"I was on the other side. I didn't see the motion. It was just a really confusing moment, I think, for him.

"What I'm trying to do most of all is to recover from that and move on," she added.

Williams sidestepped a question about whether she regretted breaking her racquet on the court.

She was subsequently fined 17,000 US dollars for the code violations.