Ex-professional tennis player Serena Williams is pregnant again. The 41-year-old announced this in an Instagram post showing her with husband Alexis Ohanian shortly before attending the 2023 Met Gala in New York City.
“I was so happy when Anna Wintour invited the three of us to the Met Gala,” she wrote under the posted pictures. Williams wore a tight-fitting black Gucci dress with a white tulle skirt, silver headband and pearl necklace to the gala, while Ohanian accompanied her in a classic tuxedo. In some pictures, Williams can be seen holding her baby bump in her hands – a clear gesture that lends weight to her words.
It is the second child for Williams and Ohanian. The couple has been married since 2017, and their first daughter Olympia was born a few weeks before the wedding. Since then, Williams has increasingly focused on her family.
With a total of 23 Grand Slam titles, Williams is one of the world’s most successful tennis players. Last year, the 41-year-old ended her active tennis career – out of another desire to have children. “I definitely don’t want to get pregnant again as an athlete. I have to stand with two legs in tennis or be outside with two legs,” wrote the professional tennis player in a “Vogue” essay.
At the beginning of her career, she could not have imagined becoming a mother. She didn’t want to put a child in “this world with all its problems”. In addition, she was neither self-confident when dealing with children, nor did she feel comfortable around babies and children. “I thought if I ever had a baby, I would have people taking care of it 24/7,” Williams continues.
However, that is different today. In five years she had only once not had Olympia as a “gripping mother” for 24 hours. And she wants to do the same with her second child.
In addition to the time factor, the sports career brought further burdens for Williams: The first birth with Olympia was a traumatic experience for Williams. “I went from a cesarean section to a second pulmonary embolism to a Grand Slam final. I played while breastfeeding. I played during postpartum depression,” she says.
The decision to stop playing tennis was the “hardest” thing she could imagine. Nevertheless, it was the right one for her: “I was so focused on my career, but when I started a family and got married, I learned that life had so much more to offer, and that was great,” emphasizes Williams.
Sources: “Vogue”, Instagram
