"Welcome back Queen" - Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian has a special message as he watches the American's Wimbledon comeback
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian arrived on Centre Court to watch Williams' tennis comeback at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. Ohanian was seated in the front row of the 23-time Grand Slam champion's player's box and had some special words of support for her on social media.
Williams appeared on the showpiece court at Wimbledon for her first match in 12 months, playing against Harmony Tan in the first round in her bid for a record-equalling 24th singles Major title. Ohanian, excited to cheer for his better half from the stands, put up a picture on Instagram stories to celebrate her return.
"Welcome back Queen," Ohanian said.
Serena Williams has been accompanied by her and Ohanian's daughter, Olympia, since she arrived in London over a week ago. She played two doubles matches in Eastbourne alongside Ons Jabeur ahead of her singles comeback at Wimbledon and looked in decent touch in both those matches.
Social media was abuzz a few days ago after Williams' confident reply during a pre-event press conference when she was asked about her thoughts on avoiding a first-round clash with World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The American shot back by suggesting that, in a similar way, any player could have been drawn against her and it would be just as challenging for them.
Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian reacted to a video posted on Twitter of Williams' answer, lauding her mindset.
It's a mindset twitter.com/notagainben/st…
He also recently took a trip down memory lane, sharing a picture from the day he met Williams for the very first time.
"2015. This was the first photo I took of my now wife; the same day I met her randomly at breakfast & she invited me to see her match in Rome. Please disregard the dated IG filter I put on it," Ohanian wrote on Twitter.
2015. This was the first photo I took of my now wife; the same day I met her randomly at breakfast & she invited me to see her match in Rome. Please disregard the dated IG filter I put on it... https://t.co/76nVDnw4sF
Serena Williams is not ready to retire: Coach Eric Hechtman
Serena Williams has a new coach by her side at Wimbledon. Eric Hechtman, who worked with her sister Venus Williams until recently and is now also working with Serena. The coach spoke about both the sisters in a recent interview, expressing confidence in their willingness to continue playing the sport.
"I don’t want to necessarily speak for their plans, but they are definitely not ready to retire," said Hechtman.
"Look, they both love the game," he said. "They are both champions. They both love working hard and putting in the work. So, as long as you’ve got that, who’s to say you can set parameters on things, right?" he added.
Welcome back, @serenawilliams
#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 https://t.co/xUDZRyDf2w
Serena Williams is unseeded at Wimbledon after dropping down to No. 1208 in the WTA rankings due to a year-long absence after tearing her hamstring. There is still no confirmation on her schedule for the rest of the season after Wimbledon. However, there is a lot of anticipation regarding her potential participation at the US Open, her home Grand Slam tournament.