Trust Serena Williams to talk straight and smash a winner with her statement/statements.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion has retorted to former tennis ace John McEnroe’s comments, saying she would struggle on the men's circuit.

In a two-part post on Twitter, Serena has demanded respect from the hot-headed former tennis pro.

"Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based," she wrote.

The tennis star, who is on a pregnancy break, also asked ‘to respect her privacy as I’m trying to have a baby’.

McEnroe, on Monday, courted controversy when he said that Serena would rank 700 if she played in the men’s circuit.

"Best female player ever -- no question."

"If she had to just play the circuit -- the men's circuit -- that would be an entirely different story," McEnroe said at an event as part of the tour promoting his new book 'But Seriously'.

McEnroe has in the past shown great respect for Serena calling her “arguable the greatest athlete of the last 100 years”.

In April, Williams announced that she was pregnant and would not compete for the rest of the season.

Williams has won Wimbledon and the Australian Open seven times, the US Open six times and the French Open three times.

McEnroe, 58, is a former world number one like Williams. He won four US Open and three Wimbledon singles titles.