Despite not competing, Serena Williams is still making a splash at the Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony in Paris. Alongside her family, including husband Alexis Ohanian and oldest daughter Olympia, Williams, 42, joined the festivities and walked the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony. On the carpet, Olympia, who is 6 years old, stole the show when NBC asked her what she was most excited about at the Games.
With a shy smile, she responded, “Every one of them,” prompting giggles and smiles from her proud parents. Ohanian, 41, playfully added, “Let ’em know.” Williams then shared her excitement for the Olympics being held in Paris.
“It’s fun! I mean the Olympics in Paris is really, really incredible,” she said. She then admitted to feeling envious of the tennis taking place at the renowned Roland-Garros. “I don’t know if it’s fun or if I’m a little jealous,” she confessed.
“I did do the London-Wimbledon combination but there’s a little jealousy here.” Throughout her illustrious career, Williams earned four Olympic gold medals: one in the women’s singles at London 2012 and three in women’s doubles with her sister, Venus Williams. She left tennis after a legendary career in 2022 , nearly a year before welcoming her second daughter, Adira.
Williams spoke about her greatest joy in life — her children — in an April 2024 interview with Byrdie . “I can’t say that a Wimbledon trophy holds a candle to volunteering at my kid’s school,” she said. “I also hope my daughters see how many different passions I have — from tennis to beauty — and learn that they can lead dynamic careers and lives across their many interests,” she added.
Williams has been candid about her struggles with motherhood , but has also emphasized the value she holds into its transformative experience. “I’ve been so focused on my career my whole life, but when I had a family and got married, I realized that there’s so much more to life. And that was great,” she told People in January 2021.
Recently, the Williams-Ohanian family faced a health scare when Ohanian was diagnosed with Lyme disease earlier this month. He shared the news on X, noting that despite the diagnosis, he showed no symptoms. “Doing a full battery of health scans, tests, etc, and found out I have lyme disease,” Ohanian wrote.
“Wild. No symptoms, thankfully, but gonna treat.” The illness, transmitted through tick bites , is more likely to be contracted in the late spring, summer and fall.
In most cases, the tick must be attached to the skin for at least 24 hours before the bacterium can be transmitted. Ohanian said that the diagnosis came as “quite a surprise” given his limited exposure to tick-prone areas. Despite the diagnosis, Ohanian appeared to be enjoying his time in Paris.
He shared a video on Instagram of Olympia painting his toenails, humorously noting their time constraint before the Opening Ceremony. Williams voiced her support for USA Tennis, especially Coco Gauff, who is a flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony alongside Lebron James. “Isn’t it great? I’m really excited to see her tonight and I’m just so happy for her oh god I love it,” Williams said when asked about Gauff, 20.
The Olympic tennis events run from July 27 to August 4 at Stade Roland Garros. The 2024 Paris Olympic Games will air on NBC , USA Network, and will be available to stream on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
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