Alexis Ohanian hated tennis! This is not just a statement but a fact, accepted by the owner himself. But Ohanian is known for his flexible nature. He picked up on things quickly and took a sensitive approach to understand new things. And that includes the sport too.

When he started dating Serena Williams, he realized the efforts one had to put into a professional sport. All his prejudices about tennis changed after that.

Always a sports enthusiast, Ohanian never liked tennis. He adored soccer, and he still is an ardent fan. However, after meeting Serena Williams, his perspective changed, and he learned to embrace the new sport.

Alexis Ohanian on his evolved relationship with tennis

The Reddit co-founder took no shame in accepting that tennis was not his favorite sport. Despite being a huge sports enthusiast, he had his reservations about tennis.

But this all changed after he met Serena Williams. In an old interview, he said, “I hated tennis until I met my wife, so I’m a quick learner!” Nonetheless, he was an avid fan of the NFL and NBA at that point.

He stated, “As a fan of sport for all of my life and then someone who’s got a front-row seat to (see) what it really takes, I do have a new appreciation for just how intense it is.” The change in perspective did not happen only regarding his likes and dislikes about the sport.

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Being in the tech industry, he had an image of people in technology being the most hard-working people. But this narrative also took a change after he saw his wife.

He stated, “I naively thought, “Oh, we’re the hardest working industry,” which is a total farce. What pro athletes do mentally and physically, day in and day out is just another level.”

How has Ohanian used tennis and Serena Williams to change the narrative around women’s sports? 

After knowing Serena Williams, he noticed the trend in tennis. The game was initially a male-dominated game, but legendary tennis players like Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Venus Williams, and his wife changed this narrative.

What tennis represents today is an egalitarian sport where WTA has an immense impact on the sport.

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This is the thing that Ohanian plans to imbibe in NWSL too. Being a male-dominated, sport, Ohanian is paving the way to making NWSL equally popular.