"Yikes" - Serena Williams laments daughters Olympia, Adira & her being denied access to rooftop luxury restaurant in Paris during Olympics visit
Serena Williams was left frustrated during her Paris visit for the 2024 Olympics when she and her kids, daughters Olympia and Adira River, were denied access to eat at the Peninsula Paris luxury hotel. The fact that this was the first time she was being stopped from eating at a nice restaurant while she was accompanied by her children made the American even angrier.
Williams, who retired from tennis in 2022, has been a mainstay at the Paris Olympics this fortnight. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has been spotted attending various competitions in the Games, including the men's tennis final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday night.
However, her pleasant time at the French capital has been ruined with the latest update. Williams took to Twitter (now X) on Monday to reveal that she had been stopped from eating at the restaurant at the Peninsula Paris even though it was empty at the time.
"Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places 🫠 but never with my kids. Always a first," Serena Williams wrote.
The Peninsula Paris, for those unaware, is one of the most renowned hotels in the world. Originally named the Hotel Majestic, it served as a field hospital for officers during the First World War, and as the command center for Nazi officers in Germany during the occupation of France. In 2014, it was finally renovated and opened under the new name.
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian is also in Paris to watch the Olympic Games and has joined her in attendance at several important events these last few days.
Serena Williams on growing up in poverty: "I never felt when I came into money that I needed to go buy this"
Serena Williams, today, is one of the highest-paid female athletes in the world. In the WTA Tour, no woman has won more than her when it comes to prize money. However, that does not mean she has always lived a rich lifestyle.
Williams came from a relatively poor background, hailing from Compton. She and her sisters shared a two-bedroom house with her parents, Richard and Oracene. Regardless, the American has constantly credited her parents for ensuring she never felt any limitations because of the same, which she believed helped her after she came into money in her later years.
"I never ever, ever felt broke. Looking back, I’m like, "Wow." We lived in a two-bedroom house with seven people," Williams said in a conversation with Uninterrupted's Kneading Dough.
"I don’t know how my parents were able to make me feel that way, but they did, and it was special. So I never felt when I came into money that I needed to go buy this because I never wanted anything. So it was a great way," she added.