Serena Williams has reflected on being a mother in ESPN’s latest original series. The 23-time Major singles champion admitted that she was initially surprised to find that she was pregnant with her first child, Olympia, at the 2017 Australian Open.
Williams retired from tennis at the US Open in 2022, going out in the third round to Ajla Tomljanovic.
ESPN+ recently came out with a docuseries titled ‘In the Arena: Serena Williams’, where the American legend talks in detail about some of the most meaningful moments of her career. In one of the episodes, she spoke about learning that she was eight weeks pregnant with her elder daughter while competing in Melbourne six years ago.
“I go to Melbourne after New Zealand and I was in the elevator with my friend Jessica, who was also there when I first met Alexis all those years ago,” Williams said in her docuseries. “And she’s like, ‘Girl, your b**bs are big!’ And I’m like, ‘They’re always big, Jess, leave me alone.’ [She said] ‘So you should take a pregnancy test.’ And I’m just like, ‘Please.’ She’s like, ‘I’m going to get you one.’ So it’s all, you know, I was like, ‘Sure, whatever. Why not?'”
Serena Williams shared the above clip on her Instagram handle, as well. In the caption, she disclosed a playful interaction that she had with her husband back then.
“I remember telling Alexis after one match that I know we’re having a girl because I don’t know any man that can handle this much pressure,” she wrote on Instagram.
Xem bài viết này trên Instagram
Serena Williams reveals her initial skepticism about being pregnant “In my soul, I didn’t think anything would happen”
Serena Williams further said in her latest Instagram upload that she didn’t believe that she was pregnant with Olympia despite showing the obvious signs.
“I genuinely didn’t think anything would come of it. In my soul, I didn’t think anything would happen,” Williams said in the video.
During the episode, the 23-time Major winner’s long-time agent, Jill Smoller, also looked back on being the first person to receive the news of her client’s first pregnancy.
“And at some point, she opens the door and sticks her head out and says, ‘Jill, can you come in here?'” Jill Smoller recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Oh God.’ I walk in, she’s in the bathroom and she looks at me and I look at her and I’m like, ‘You’re pregnant.'”
Serena Williams didn’t drop a single set en route to the 2017 Australian Open title, marking her seventh Major triumph Down Under. The American eventually gave birth to her daughter Olympia in September that year, a few weeks after which she tied the knot with Alexis Ohanian.
While Williams never won a Grand Slam after giving birth, she did reach four finals, two at the US Open, and two at Wimbledon.
