Police ask Serena Williams to report alleged cellphone theft

Serena Williams . AP Photo

SAN FRANCISCO, California—San Francisco police are asking tennis star Serena Williams to file a police report after she said someone tried to steal her cellphone at a restaurant.

Officer Grace Gatpandan said Williams had not filed a report as of Thursday morning. She said police like to know if they’re dealing with a serial cellphone thief.

Williams said on her Facebook page that she was having a Chinese dinner on Tuesday when a man grabbed her cellphone and left. She had put it on the chair next to her.

Surveillance footage shows her leaving the restaurant and confronting the man on the sidewalk.

Williams said she asked the man if he had accidentally taken the wrong phone, and he said he had before giving it back.