An Australian newspaper which found itself at the centre of a race row over its cartoonist’s depiction of Serena Williams has doubled down on its support for the artist.

The Herald Sun has hit out at those who criticised Mark Knight’s drawing, which shows Williams jumping over a broken racquet next to a baby’s dummy.

Critics said the cartoon used racist and sexist stereotypes.

But that did not stop the newspaper reprinting the image on its front page.

Underneath the headline “Welcome to PC world”, the newspaper wrote: “If the self-appointed censors of Mark Knight get their way on his Serena Williams cartoon, our new politically correct life will be very dull indeed”.