"One heck of a woman, I was not in heels after I gave birth" - When Serena Williams was in awe of Kate Middleton's post-maternity public appearance
Tennis legend Serena Williams once expressed her admiration for Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales. The American was particularly impressed by how the Brit looked so graceful and composed right after giving birth to her third child.
Middleton gave birth to her and Prince Williams' third child, Prince Louis, on April 23, 2018. He is their youngest child, following Prince George and Princess Charlotte. He is also fifth in line to the British throne.
Hours after giving birth, Kate Middleton stepped outside St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, West London, dazzling in a red dress, heels, and full makeup to introduce her newborn son to the world for the first time.
Middleton's fresh and elegant appearance left Serena Williams both confused and in awe. In an interview with POPSUGAR in 2018, the 23-time Grand Slam champion admitted she initially thought the baby had been born a few days before the event.
"I was really busy, but I saw the baby, and Kate was dressed, and I was like, 'Oh, maybe she had him a couple days ago.' That's one heck of a woman! Let me tell you: I was not in heels [after I gave birth]. I thought she gave birth maybe two days before! Wow," Williams said.
Middleton and Williams go back a long way. The Princess of Wales and her sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, who is Prince Harry's wife, have frequently been in the royal box to watch the American's matches at the Wimbledon Championships.
Serena Williams on scary experience during childbirth: "I felt like I was dying"
Serena Williams married Alexis Ohanian on November 16, 2017, in a star-studded ceremony in New Orleans. They have two children together: Olympia Ohanian Jr., born on September 1, 2017, and Adira River Ohanian, born in August 2023.
In a 2018 column for CNN, Williams opened up about the challenges she faced during Olympia's birth. She revealed that after waking up from her emergency C-section; she felt as though she was dying due to severe complications, which included a pulmonary embolism.
"When I woke up from that surgery, in the hospital room with my parents and my in-laws, I felt like I was dying. They were trying to talk to me, and all I could think was, 'I’m dying, I’m dying. Oh my God,'" she wrote.
The American added:
"I fought hard, and I ended up getting the CAT scan. I’m so grateful to (the doctor). Lo and behold, I had a blood clot in my lungs, and they needed to insert a filter into my veins to break up the clot before it reached my heart."