Tennis megastar, Serena Williams, welcomed her first child, a baby girl, with fiancé and Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, at St. Mary’s Medical Centre, West Palm Beach, Florida, the United States (U.S.) on Friday. It is believed Serena will be serving up a lot of love to her newborn baby.
The baby girl came in the middle of the U.S. Open. According to New York Daily News; “Tennis star Serena Williams gives birth to a baby girl weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces. Mom and baby doing well.”
“Obviously, I’m super excited,” Serena’s big sis, Venus Williams, told ESPN shortly before her match at the US Open on Friday afternoon. “Words can’t describe.”
After the news broke, pal Beyoncé, who recently welcomed twins, offered up her well wishes to the pro athlete, posting on Instagram, “Congratulations Serena!” Prior to their daughter’s arrival, the couple insisted they didn’t know the sex, though Ohanian said he suspected it would be a girl — and Venus referred to the unborn child as “she” and “her.” Williams, 35, previously said that despite “not being a baby person,” giving birth would make her feel like a “real woman.” Williams, 35, announced her pregnancy in a bathing suit snap on Snapchat in April with the caption “20 weeks” amid a series of images from the couple’s tropical getaway.
The athlete later revealed she had posted the snap publicly by accident — and that it was really only meant for close friends.
Ohanian opened up about how the Olympic champ will be a great mother during an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in early July.
“She’s very good at a lot of things and well on her way to being an awesome mom too,” he said. The techie plans to take six weeks of paternity leave to focus on Williams and their new bundle of joy. The 23-time major winner previously announced that she would be taking maternity leave for the remainder of 2017. She has said she hopes to return for the Australian Open in January.
Williams was a few weeks pregnant when she beat her sister Venus to win the Australian Open back in January. She and Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, became engaged in December at the Italian restaurant where they first meant. “This time he made it not by chance / But by choice / Down on one knee / He said 4 words And / isaidyes,” she wrote at the time. She dropped the bombshell news on a thread on her love’s website, Reddit.
The two have yet to announce a wedding date.
Williams has four Gold Medals, one from winning the singles at the 2012 London Olympics and three thanks to doubles wins at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics.
The Florida-native has been ranked No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association in the singles on seven occasions between 2002 and 2017.
In 2016, she was named the Best Female Tennis Player at the ESPY Awards and in 2015 she was named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year.
