"Serena Williams was in Mama Bear Mode" - Alexis Ohanian remembers heroic story from the 2018 French Open
Speaking on Meghan Markle's podcast Archetypes recently, Serena Williams shared a story from the 2018 French Open where her nine-month-old daughter, Olympia Ohanian, fell from a chair and broke her wrist.
Recalling the unfortunate incident, Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian took to social media to praise the tennis icon for taking care of Olympia and winning her Grand Slam match the next day with "little to no sleep."
"I'll never forget Olympia breaking her little arm during RG. Yes, I had it handled, but Serena was in Mama Bear Mode and wouldn't leave her for a minute. Played (won) next day with little to no sleep and a mountain of anxiety," Ohanian tweeted.
I'll never forget Olympia breaking her little arm during RG. Yes, I had it handled, but Serena was in Mama Bear Mode and wouldn't leave her for a minute. Played (won) next day with little to no sleep and a mountain of anxiety. twitter.com/EBONYMag/statu…
The American won her 23rd Major at the 2017 Australian Open while she was eight weeks pregnant with Olympia. The 2018 French Open was Williams' first Grand Slam appearance since her daughter's birth in September 2017. On the podcast, the 40-year-old stated that she felt extremely guilty after Olympia's fall.
"That year I had Olympia and I had a match the next day and that night, she fell out of her high chair and broke her wrist," Williams said. "And she was on my watch. I was just devastated. I literally couldn't think. I felt so guilty. We went to the hospital and she had a small tear, a break in her wrist, so she had to get a cast and we didn't get back till like four in the morning. Meanwhile, of course, it is the one day I was playing early."
Williams blamed herself for the incident and could only sleep for 30 minutes before her match the next day. Although the legendary player won the match, she stated that she was emotionally exhausted.
"I remember holding her the whole night and just like rocking her to sleep and I just didn't let her out of my sight at that point because I was hard on myself, and I’m a little bit of a perfectionist. But I was so mad at myself for even allowing that to happen. So I think I got like 30 minutes of sleep and then I had to go play this match. And I'm just thinking, how am I going to play?" she added.
"I somehow managed to win, but I was so emotionally spent and just like so emotionally drained that it was crazy. And then like every night after that, I just was with her the whole time and was like 'you're going to be with me'," Serena Williams continued.
Serena Williams to face Danka Kovinic in the US Open 1R
Danka Kovinic is Serena Williams' first-round opponent in what will be the last tournament of her legendary career. The 23-time Grand Slam winner announced her decision to retire after the US Open during the Canadian Open a couple of weeks ago. Williams turned pro in October 1995 and has achieved immeasurable success in the last 27 years.
The former World No. 1 has lately been out of action due to injury, managing to play just four matches this season. Serena Williams is currently ranked 608th and will aim to go all the way at the US Open to win her 24th Major.
Serena Williams will open with Danka Kovinic in her final US Open. https://t.co/cSjGuZIHKj