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PARIS, FRANCE June 4. Alexis Ohanian, husband of Serena Williams of the United States reacts in the stands during her match against Danielle Collins of the United States on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the third round of the singles competition at the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June. 4th 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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PARIS, FRANCE June 4. Alexis Ohanian, husband of Serena Williams of the United States reacts in the stands during her match against Danielle Collins of the United States on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the third round of the singles competition at the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June. 4th 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian have always supported women’s sports as well as their equality in every sphere. The couple has always been vocal about their take. Alexis Ohanian has promoted the ‘Weareangelcity’- Angel City FC- football team of women.
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He took to his Instagram to hail Ali Riley, defender of the team for representing the team with the baseball player Clayton Kershaw, by exchanging their sports jerseys.
Alexis Ohanian hails jersey exchange between football and baseball
Alexis Ohanian is also the owner of the Angel City football team, founded by actress Natalie Portman.
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He took to his Instagram story to share the jersey exchange of the Ali Riley of the team with Clayton Kershaw, the pitcher of the baseball team Dodgers. He stated, “Way to represent @rileythree”.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 03: Alexis Ohanian, attends the Women’s Singles quarterfinal match between Serena Williams of the United States and Qiang Wang of China on day nine of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 03, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Some of the most influential women in the world are the owners of the soccer team. Along with Alexis Ohanian, his wife, and 23-time grand slam winner, Serena Williams is also one of the owners of the team.
Steps by Serena Williams to promote equality
Both Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams have been very vocal about their take on promoting equality in all sports. Both the Williams sisters have voiced their take on equal pay in tennis as well.
Gradually, tennis authorities are making tangible changes to promote equality. Wimbledon too recently made a move to use the names of the female players instead of their husbands’ surnames. It also removed ‘Ms’ or ‘Mrs’ as prefixes from their names.
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Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – June 4, 2021 Serena Williams of the U.S. celebrates after winning her third round match against Danielle Rose Collins of the U.S. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Though these are small steps, these are considerable steps towards an egalitarian sport. These steps will influence changes in other sports as well where there is not much importance given to female players.
WATCH THIS STORY: Serena Williams’ Mother Oracene Takes a Nap on Center Court While Daughter Makes Her Debut at Wimbledon Championships 2022
Serena Williams had made a comeback after one whole year because of her hamstring injury. However, French player Harmony Tan defeated her in the first round of Wimbledon. Nonetheless, she is still optimistic about her presence at the US Open.
Written by
Edited by
Deepakshi Chaudhary