"If I wasn't playing tennis, I'd be pregnant" - When Serena Williams shared her feelings about making a return after birth of 1st child
Serena Williams gave birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017. In an interview from 2018, the tennis legend hinted that she would have done it all over again had she not returned to competition.
Williams announced her first pregnancy with now-husband Alexis Ohanian in April 2017, just months after clinching her seventh and final Australian Open title. At the time, the American was 20 months pregnant, meaning she won the Grand Slam while expecting her daughter.
Serena Williams gave birth to Olympia in September that year, and she and Ohanian were married in November. Merely six months after becoming a mother (in March 2018), the former World No. 1 staged a competitive comeback. And in July, she was back on the podium as the runner-up at the Wimbledon Championships.
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in May 2018, Williams opened up about embracing motherhood while being an active tennis player. The American indicated that she was ready to have another child if she had hit pause on her career.
"If I wasn’t playing tennis, I’d be pregnant right now – sorry, I’m one of those women," she said, laughing.
She also assured that her physical changes during and after pregnancy didn’t bother her, despite being an athlete.
"I’ve been injured so many times, and played on it, my body is used to adjusting," Williams said.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who reached a staggering four Grand Slam finals after giving birth, however, hinted at shifting priorities.
"It’s definitely family before tennis for me," she said.
"When I’m training, I have to be done at 1pm, because I’ve got to be with Olympia. I haven’t gone a day without seeing her," Williams added.
Serena Williams: "I'm going to strive to be the best mom I can be"
In the aforementioned interview from 2018, Serena Williams also endearingly revealed whether she feels she is good at being a mother.
"I do," she said.
"I hope I am, and I’m going to strive to be the best mom I can be," she added.
At the time, Williams also opened up about wanting another child, a sibling for her daughter Olympia.
"I told Alexis (her husband), I hope it’s another girl," she said in 2018.
"Olympia needs a little sister, and then we can have a boy. I’ve only been around girls my whole life," Williams, who grew up around four sisters, including Venus, added.
Serena Williams stepped away from tennis after the 2022 US Open. In May 2023, she and Ohanian announced they were expecting their second child together. The couple’s daughter, Adira, was born in August that year.