"I used to change the channel... Then I watched my first match when I met Serena Williams" - When husband Alexis Ohanian was left in awe of American
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian have become a power couple, known for their support for each other. However, the Reddit co-founder once confessed that before meeting his wife, he had little interest in tennis and would even switch channels when it came on.
Williams and Ohanian met in 2015 at the Cavalieri Hotel in Rome. She was there for a tournament, and he happened to be staying there for a conference. The two initially connected after a casual conversation, despite her friends' attempts to shoo him away from their table.
They started dating shortly after and announced their engagement in December 2016. In September 2017, they welcomed their daughter, Alexis Olympia, and got married in November 2017 in a beautiful ceremony in New Orleans. Their second daughter, Adira, was born in August 2023.
In a 2018 Q&A with the New York Times, Alexis Ohanian recalled how his perspective on tennis shifted after meeting Serena Williams. From rarely watching the sport, he grew to appreciate it as he got to know the 23-time Grand Slam champion more.
"I used to change the channel when tennis was on," Ohanian said. "Then I watched my first match when I met her, and quickly got an appreciation for the sport."
"It’s not just the physical requirements but the mental requirements. I could not imagine doing my job with millions of people watching," he added.
Alexis Ohanian praises wife Serena Williams' work ethic
Alexis Ohanian continued to shower praise on his wife, Serena Williams, during the same Q&A session with the New York Times, specifically highlighting her remarkable work ethic. He confessed that before meeting her, he believed he was the hardest-working person around.
"I thought I was the hardest-working person on the planet. I thought we were the hardest-working industry. That’s what we tell ourselves. It’s all malarkey," Ohanian said.
However, the Reddit co-founder noted that as he got to know her better and had a "front-row" seat to witness her greatness, he came to realize that her dedication to her work was on another level.
"I’ve had this front-row seat over the last three years to greatness," Ohanian said.
"It’s a humbling experience seeing really what high-pressure situations actually look like professionally, seeing just what it takes to actually be that great. It is a work ethic on another level," he added.