Serena Williams falls ill after eating dog food

Serena Williams has made an embarrassing admission to fans, but urged them not to judge her after sampling dog food that made her sick.

Williams, whose life as a professional athlete would demand a stringent diet, is in Rome for the Italian Open.

She apparently decided to err from routine when kitchen staff at her hotel decided to whip-up a special menu for her pet Yorkshire terrier, Chip, that included a Salmon and rice dish.

Williams thought it too tempting not to sample.

“I ate a spoonful. Don’t judge me,” Williams confessed to her followers on Snapchat.

Unfortunately, a trip to the bathroom followed.

“I don’t think it’s consumable for humans. They should have wrote that," she added, saying it tasted “a little bit like a house-cleaner thing."

Thankfully for Williams, the incident didn’t seem to impact her when she returned to court for her third round clash against Christina McHale.

The American won 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.