Home

Tennis

“Wouldn’t Naturally Put Her in It”: Serena Williams on Playing Tennis With Daughter Olympia

Published 01/27/2021, 6:00 AM EST

Follow Us

via Getty

Serena Williams has opened up on her daughter Alexis Olympia and how she is on the court. In an interview with popular American talk show host Stephen Colbert, Serena said that her daughter seems to have an innate talent for tennis though she is not sure “where she got that from”.

Calling little Olympia “a perfectionist on the court”, the 23-time Grand Slam champion said she never imagined she would let her daughter play tennis at her age but realized that it was the “safest way” she could bond with her during the pandemic.

To a question on whether the American would consider putting Olympia in tennis, she said the sport does take a lot out of an individual and she “wouldn’t naturally put her in it.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

via Getty

Serena said that tennis is “all-consuming”, “stressful”, “a lot of work” and “a huge commitment” and she wouldn’t wish for her daughter to go through all that in order to make a career in the game.

Serena will be her daughter’s biggest cheerleader if she ends up playing tennis

Serena said that if her daughter wants to pursue tennis as a career option, she wouldn’t stand in her way. “If that (playing tennis) was something she wanted to do, I would absolutely be like, ‘Oh my god, she should totally do that,” Serena said.

The American added that though she would be the biggest cheerleader for her little one if she ends playing tennis, it isn’t the first thing she would want her to pursue.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Tennis stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Serena is currently under quarantine in Adelaide ahead of the Australian OpenHaving not won a single Grand Slam title in three years, the 39-year-old American would head to Melbourne Park, desperate to get the monkey off her back.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

A 24th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open will put her on level with the legendary Margaret Court, who currently holds the record for the most number of career Majors across the men’s and women’s fields.

“Relied On Her More Than Ever”: Serena Williams Opens Up About Her Mother’s Unexpected Support

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Serena raised visions of ending her Grand Slam title drought at the US Open last year but eventually went out in the last-four stage to Belarussian Victoria Azarenka.

 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Priyabrata Chowdhury

1,101Articles

One take at a time

Priyabrata Chowdhury is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. He has been a print journalist for a decade, producing news pages for leading national dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express. His passion for sports eventually drove him to tennis writing.
Show More>