Serena Williams Waving To Her Daughter At The U.S. Open Is The Wholesome Content We All Needed
It’s clear Williams’ biggest fan is her daughter
Serena Williams is kicking ass and taking names at the U.S. Open, but all eyes (including Williams’) were on her most adorable fan: daughter Alexis Olympia.
Following her win over Sloan Stevens during her third-round victory, Williams spoke to reporters court-side and joked about Olympia’s interest in her mom’s job. “I don’t think she was paying attention between you and me,” Williams said. “She may have been playing with some princesses upstairs.”
But it was clear to anyone watching that 3-year-old Olympia was very much enjoying watching her mama play. She sat with her dad, Alexis Ohanian — Williams’ husband of nearly three years — and was beaming at her mom. “Look, that’s mommy,” Olympia told her dad.
“I hope that she saw her mama fighting,” Williams also told reporters, before saying, “Hey, baby,” and waving to her little girl.
At any other U.S. Open, Williams would have her fans cheering loudly; but this time, just a few sat in the stands.
“I just said, ‘I don’t want to lose in straight sets,’ because I was like, ‘How can I beat [her]? She’s playing so good. Oh my gosh,'” Williams said after her match with Stevens. “And I was like, ‘OK, Serena. Just get a game. Get a game.’ And next thing I know, I won the second set and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, great.'”
Williams has been open in the past about juggling work and motherhood.
“We have all been there,” she said in an Instagram post of the difficult days. “I work a lot, I train, and I’m trying to be the best athlete I can be.” And that means Williams isn’t around for her daughter as much as she would like to be. “Most of you moms deal with the same thing. Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes,” she said.
Judging by the look on Olympia’s face, she seems more than OK with her mom working. Last week, Williams shared a sweet Instagram picture of her biggest little fan, captioning the post, “Princess.”
Williams takes on Maria Sakkari in her next match on Monday. She lost to the 15th seed Sakkari a few days ago at the Cincinnati Open in three sets, but if Olympia’s presence has anything to do with it, we’re betting Williams will come out on top this time around.
