Serena Williams reflects on life post-retirement and motherhood
The former world No. 1 has been retired from professional tennis for nearly two years and has kept busy with various business ventures, investments, fashion appearances, and the new documentary about her life, “In The Arena,” produced by ESPN.
Williams, 42, has been married to American entrepreneur and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian since 2017, and they have two daughters: six-year-old Olympia and Adira, born in August 2023. Speaking about her motherhood, Williams shared how she explains her tennis achievements to her daughter: “Olympia told me the other day, ‘You’re famous.’ And I’m like: ‘Oh, not really. I’m just your mom.’ So I don’t know. I just feel like when the time comes — and, honestly, when it’s settled in for me too.”
“I’ll definitely have that conversation with them, and I’ll let them know the potentially important impact I have had on sport and beyond,” Williams said, laughing.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion compared her upbringing with how she is raising her daughters: “I always look at my dad, and I think, How were you able to do that? Because I’m like, Oh, they’re so cute. I just want them to relax, and I don’t want to over-push them. But I would be devastated if I wasn’t pushed, because we wouldn’t be having this interview, and there would never have been a Serena Williams. So I feel so fortunate that I had an opportunity to have that extra oomph.”
“But for whatever reason, I’m having a hard time connecting to that extra push, and that’s something I’ve been trying to figure out myself, how to give that extra motivation to my daughters, because it’s definitely worth it, I can confirm from experience.”
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