Serena Williams’ daughter Olympia practices tennis while her dad is the ‘ball boy’

Williams first brought daughter to a tennis court when she was three years old

Serena Williams’ daughter, Olympia Ohanian, has been following in her mother’s footsteps on the tennis court, with some assistance from her father, Alexis Ohanian.

On Saturday 23 September, the six year old posted a photo of herself on Instagram in a white tank top and purple shorts as she prepared to hit a tennis ball with her backhand grip. “Papa is my ball boy,” she captioned the post.

Her father confirmed his role on the court by commenting on the post with a raised hand emoji.

Williams had previously shared in an interview withPeople that she introduced tennis into her daughter’s life early, when the Covid-19 pandemic began. “Honestly, we started because it’s a socially safe sport, and when Covid happened, it was like: ‘We’re just in the house with a three year old, what do we do?’” she told the outlet.

Since then the mother-daughter duo has continued to show up on the court with the goal of improving Olympia’s tennis skills. However, Williams admitted on Person to Person with Norah O’Donnell, that Olympia “doesn’t actually like to play tennis too much”.

“That’s a little disappointing for me, but she’s actually really good at it,” she shared with O’Donnell. “So we are trying to figure out a way to get her to play a little bit.”

The 23-time Grand Slam champion added: “Maybe I can push her into tennis by getting other kids to have a group lesson, I think that’s what I’m gonna do.”

She ended up following through on that promise as the tennis star did sign her then-four-year-old daughter up for tennis lessons, which she documented on her Instagram Stories. Williams joked that the instructor had “no idea” that Olympia was her daughter.

“Don’t even start with me because I’m not giving her tennis lessons, I signed her up for some,” she explained. “I’m not a pushy mom, but I know how I like techniques, I want to make sure she’s good at teaching Olympia some techniques,” she added.

Despite the tennis pro’s attempts to instill a similar love for tennis in her oldest child, Williams has also said that Olympia likes playing the piano too. During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in November 2021, Williams shared: “She likes tennis, but I don’t know. Honestly, she likes playing piano.”

“And she’s teaching me! Like, I’m not even kidding,” she explained. “I have a baby Mozart, [but] of course every parent thinks they have like, a baby Beethoven or whatever.”

Williams shared a video to TikTok on 22 August to announce the arrival of her and Ohanian’s second child. The one-minute video started off with Ohanian looking at a computer and sitting at a table, before his wife sat down next to him. The pair were then joined by their five-year-old daughter Olympia.

The video went on to show Williams leaving the room, before she returned with her newborn baby in her arms. After the tennis star exchanged a kiss with her husband, Olympia leaned toward them to give her little sister a kiss on the forehead. The clip ended with a few sweet snaps of the now family of four.

Ohanian also shared a photo of himself and his family on Instagram to announce the baby news, revealing his child’s name: Adira River Ohanian. He continued the caption of his post by expressing his gratitude for his second daughter and wife, along with the doctors who cared for them.

“I’m grateful to report our house is teaming with love: a happy & healthy newborn girl and happy & healthy mama,” he wrote. “Feeling grateful. @serenawilliams you’ve now given me another incomparable gift - you’re the GMOAT. Thanks to all the amazing medical staff who took care of my wife & our daughter.

“I’ll never forget the moment I introduced @olympiaohanian to her baby sister.”