The tennis world has had their hearts warmed after Serena Williams informed her daughter Olympia that she would soon have a younger sibling. Williams revealed she was pregnant with her second child at the Met Gala at the beginning of May, an announcement that left fans thrilled for the 23-time grand slam champion.
Williams, who is married to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, shared a video of the moment they told Olympia of the news on the couple’s YouTube channel. The 41-year-old said the couple hadn’t yet told their daughter, deciding now was the time after she amusingly pointed out that she had gotten ‘fat’.

“Olympia does not know right now that I am pregnant, but she did call me fat and then she got really, like, stressed out,” Williams said. “She was like ‘Mummy, you’re fat’.
“I tried not to take it personal, ‘cause I’m, like, super into fitness, but I’m, like, ‘Uhh, am I?’ We’re going to tell her (about the pregnancy) and I’m really, really excited to see her reaction.”
The couple sat the five-year-old Olympia down on the couch before telling her exactly why her mother had appeared to be looking a little different over the previous few weeks. “Remember how you’ve been praying for a little sister or brother?” Serena asked Olympia.
“Well, we went to the doctor, and it turns out I’m not getting fat. But I have a baby in my belly.”

An overjoyed Olympia reacted with glee, asking ‘are you kidding me?’ before Williams and Ohanian confirmed she was going to become a big sister. The couple had previously made their pregnancy public at the Met Gala, telling co-host Lara Kent there were ‘three of us here’ when the couple were interviewed on the red carpet.
Williams retired from tennis in September last year, with her final match a loss to Australian player Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open. She has since teased a potential comeback, however it would seem unlikely that Williams might somehow win another grand slam while pregnant, as she did at the 2017 Australian Open with while carrying Olympia.

Serena Williams discusses mixed feeling about tennis retirement
However the 41-year-old has hinted a number of times in recent months that she doesn’t think she’s completely done with tennis. In an interview with E! earlier in 2023, Williams openly admitted she has mixed feelings about her retirement.

“It’s interesting. I think I feel torn because I’m still able to play at a very, very, very high level,” she said. “With that being said, I always wanted to leave the game playing at a very high level.
“I also wanted to walk away when I’m healthy and have a quality of life. But I’m inch-by-inch leaning away, inch-by-inch embracing it.
“I was playing earlier when I first retired because it was hard to do it cold turkey. But lately, I haven’t played so much. And I miss it. I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness. I gotta get out there’. But it’s hard for me to get out there.
“I did play the other day, and it’s just like, ‘There’s no way I shouldn’t be playing professional tennis’. Like, there’s literally no excuse. But I mean, I guess there is an excuse, right? It’s hard because when I’m playing I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m pretty good at this. I can continue to do this,’ which not a lot of people can say.”

Williams said it wouldn’t be possible for her to enjoy her work-life balance if she was still playing professionally. “I’ve been playing tennis for literally my entire life,” she said.
“My entire being and knowing is just what I’ve done. So now, I’m inch-by-inch finding my way.
“Obviously, I love other businesses that I’ve done. But just inch-by-inch leaning into that and leaning into my family and leaning into just having fun. I think it’s so important to do all those and still create that balance.”