Serena Williams Said She Missed Her Daughter's First Footsteps, and Twitter Was Amazing About It
Serena Williams is back at Wimbledon after the birth of her first child, Alexis Olympia, and so far, the 23-time Grand Slam champ has been crushing it on the court. But in a totally real tweet on Saturday, Williams revealed nothing is as easy as it looks, especially since all of her training has meant that she’s missed special moments with her daughter.
On Saturday, Williams shared that while she was practicing at the All England Club, her toddler walked for the first time. “She took her first steps… I was training and missed it. I cried,” she wrote on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/serenawilliams/status/1015514300490960896
In one of those rare moments of sweetness on Twitter, her emotional tweet sparked a flood of support and solidarity from other moms, who understand how hard it can be to balance parenthood plus work and life. Many women shared that they had also missed certain rites of passage with their kids because of their careers—which is totally understandable and yes, totally fine—and quickly comforted Williams. “My motherhood rule: the first you see is the first time it happened FULL STOP!” one social media user wrote.
https://twitter.com/under_six_feet/status/1015516962267463680
https://twitter.com/miller_jcm/status/1015516514630287360?s=21
https://twitter.com/feministajones/status/1015718115378913281?s=21
https://twitter.com/ashleyn1cole/status/1015709889304449024?s=21
It’s not the first time Williams has opened up about motherhood: She’s detailed the serious complications she faced while giving birth, which left her bedridden for six weeks. She also opened up to Glamour about the challenges that come with being a new mom. She described “the frustration” as being one of the biggest difficulties. “When the baby starts crying and you don’t know what to do, you get frustrated,” she said.
Williams has also had to navigate her career after becoming a new mom. She missed Wimbledon last year when she was pregnant, and before she competed in the French Open this spring, her rank was dropped from No. 1 down to No. 453—never mind the fact that she had won her record 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open when she was nine weeks pregnant. (After seeing the backlash, the U.S. Open announced that they would make sure not to penalize athletes for maternity leave.)
Still, the tennis champion is back in the game, and she competes against Evgeniya Rodina—who is also a mom—on Monday. We have no doubt that, whatever the outcome, Olympia will be proud of her champion mom.
Related Stories:
Wimbledon Defines Serena Williams—and All Female Competitors—By Their Marital Status
Serena Williams Has the Perfect Response for People Who Call Her ‘Manly’
Serena Williams on the Pressure of Motherhood: ‘I’m Not Always Going to Win’