Serena Williams was pregnant when she won her 23rd Slam in January

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge speaks with runners after they put a Heads Together headband onto the Kensington Palace post-box in support of the Royal Mail wrapping 70 post-boxes that line the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon route

Serena Williams is pregnant. Serena Williams has been pregnant for 20 WEEKS! Which means Serena Williams won her 23rd Slam at the Australian Open when she was pregnant. Which is really f–king amazing. During the tournament in Melbourne, I kept wondering why Serena’s vibe felt a little bit different – she had her fiance, Alexis Ohanian, with her but she didn’t want to answer any questions about him. Which I thought was just a baller, alpha move on Serena’s part – I mean, she’s the Queen of Everything, but Alexis is a billionaire and he could be dating an endless string of models, but she made her billionaire fiance seem like just one member of her entourage. It was awesome. Now I wonder if she didn’t want to answer any questions about him because she didn’t want to spill the beans on the pregnancy. And if you do the math, it seems like they got pregnant right around the same time they got engaged last December.

Serena announced her pregnancy on Snapchat, but she took it down after a few minutes (just long enough for everyone to get a screengrab). Ever since Melbourne, Serena has seemingly been on vacation with Alexis and they’ve been posting a lot of social media photos. Now we’ve also solved the mystery of why Serena didn’t play Indian Wells and Miami – she would have probably been showing already (a little bump) in March.

Incidentally, one of Serena’s biggest rivals (and friends) Victoria Azarenka gave birth to a baby boy last December, and Vika is planning on returning to the tour this year for the North American hard court swing. People are already speculating about when Serena will be able to come back, especially if there’s an Azarenka Resurgence. If Serena’s 20 weeks now, that means a late August/early September baby, right? It’s probably way too much to ask that Serena defend her title in Australia next year. But Wimbledon 2018? I feel like that’s a real possibility. Then again, she turns 36 this year and maybe she will genuinely feel like retiring. Then again, Venus is in the midst of a late-career resurgence and I wouldn’t be surprised if Serena and Venus want to play doubles together for a few more years.

Speaking of birthdays, Lainey pointed out that Serena actually announced the pregnancy on Maria Sharapova’s 30th birthday. YAAASSS QUEEN. Love it. Love everything about it. Also: BEYONCE AND SERENA ARE PREGNANT AT THE SAME TIME. We truly are blessed.

Serena Williams (USA)TENNIS : Australian Open 2017 - 25/01/2017plays at the Tennis - Australian Open 2017

My only regret is not pointing my toe sorry coach Garry 🙈

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News, WENN, Serena’s social media.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

66 Responses to “Serena Williams was pregnant when she won her 23rd Slam in January”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Cannibell says:

    Awww, Congratulations to Serena & Alexis – and YAY for adding Pregnancy Myth-Buster to her array of superpowers.

  2. OriginallyBlue says:

    I’m not usually giving a sh*t about celebrity pregnancies, but this one makes me so happy!!

  3. Ninks says:

    Congratulations to her.

  4. Singtress says:

    Pregnant and winning national titles.
    When I was knocked up I had issues just getting dressed in the morning.

    • Mrs Fonzieface says:

      I know, right? Someone asked me how old I was when I was 12 weeks pregnant and I genuinely couldn’t answer.

      • Missy says:

        OH my gosh the same hing happened to me…I kept telling people I was 21 but I was just shy of 24 at the time. It got better towards the middle of my pregnancy but the first few months I had absolute mush brain

      • Rachel says:

        Don’t feel bad. I’ve never been pregnant, and I still can’t remember how old I am half the time. I have to do the math. And even then, it’s difficult because math and I don’t see eye to eye. I think at some point your age just stops mattering, so you forget about it.

    • damejudi says:

      All praise to Serena! At that stage in pregnancy, all I wanted to do was to sleep.

      Nobody better dare question what an elite athlete (and also a badass) she is.

      Best wishes for their family!

    • chrissy says:

      I’m in my 3rd trimester and exhausted, but at 10 weeks (when she was playing the Open) I was even more tired and sick to boot. Everyone’s different, but just damn, Serena. She is beyond.

      • Lee1 says:

        Seriously! I’m just about 8 weeks and constantly want to barf and I keep passing out hard at 8pm. Serena is blowing my mind!

    • liz says:

      I was one of the lucky ones. My pregnancy was incredibly easy – even the first trimester. I didn’t know I was pregnant until I was already 10 weeks along. I had no morning sickness at all. It wasn’t until I had missed two periods and was more than a little cranky that my husband suggested that I “go pee on a stick.” I was in shock – particularly when I had an ultrasound a week later and the doctor said “You’re almost 12 weeks pregnant. How did you not notice?”

      Serena is probably having that sort of pregnancy too.

      I’m not trying to minimize her accomplishment – she won without dropping a set – an amazing feat – pregnant or not.

      I wish her an easy pregnancy, a safe delivery and a healthy baby.

      • Moneypenny says:

        That’s how I’ve been too. I’m now 30 weeks pregnant with my 2nd and have been fortunate to have easy pregnancies. I still do boot camp. So glad to see Queen Serena pregnant and still kicking butt!

  5. Ayra. says:

    I’m so happy for her, she’s said that she wanted a start a family soon. I can imagine other tennis players are breathing a sigh of relief for the moment.
    I’ll add, Alexis isn’t a billionaire, his net worth is between $4.5 and $6 million.

    • Susan says:

      Serena is by far the wealthier one in that relationship from what I’ve read. Like $150 million rich compared to his $5 million.

  6. dodgy says:

    Aww, blessings to them.

    I love how pleased and proud they look in the photo.

    Playing a tourney whilst pregnant though. Slay.

  7. Louise177 says:

    I’m actually surprised. I thought Serena would wait until she retired so that she could get the most Grand Slams. Physically I think she could come back but due to her age I wonder if she would want to. Curious why she took down the photo.

  8. Tina says:

    That is one lucky guy. To his credit, he looks like he knows that.

    • ichsi says:

      LOL, my exact thoughts. I’m happy for them and if this doesn’t shut up some idiot men on the internet for a while, i don’t know what will.

  9. Kate says:

    I can barely run for more than 5 minutes and I’m not even pregnant. Anyway… Congrats!!!

  10. adastraperaspera says:

    Best news ever! I love her smile!

  11. Betsy says:

    DAMMMMNNNN!

  12. kim says:

    Congratulations to Serena & Alexis. Serena is Awesome !
    P.S
    Just a side note to Kaiser, Can Serena and Alexis or anyone else for the record have their moment without you mention beyoncé.

  13. Robin says:

    I don’t think he is a billionnaire. Million yes. Billion no.

  14. Nicole says:

    Ultimate GOAT

  15. Patricia says:

    I am totally amazed and proud of her. Women are strong creatures!
    I have been really proud of myself because I did a hike up a mountain in New York State when I was one week pregnant (I didn’t even know at the time hahah). I’ve been giving myself so much credit for that now that I’m 30 weeks and huffing and puffing after climbing a flight of stairs. But this puts me to SHAME!

    • Esmom says:

      Ha, I rode in a mountain bike race early in my first pregnancy and didn’t know I was pregnant. I even fell off the bike a few times in rough sections, I think about that and wonder that we survived! I was extremely exhausted and winning a tennis title takes a lot more grit and stamina for sure. Amazing.

  16. swak says:

    Saw this yesterday and was so happy for her and what a wonderful, positive story it was. Am not surprised that she played in a grand slam tournament in her first 3 months of pregnancy. She’s strong and used to the rigor of preparing for a tournament.

  17. Miss V says:

    This is genuinely good news, right when we need a little levity in the world. Leave it to Serena…. the one true queen!

  18. TyrantDestroyed says:

    Congrats to Serena and I admire her even more for winning when she was already pregnant. I am 11 weeks pregnant with my first and last 😛 and between nausea and anemia there are days when I cannot even get out of the bed. She looks great.

    • Nikki says:

      Aww. Good luck with rest of your pregnancy, tyrant destroyed!! Hope you feel better soon

  19. commonsense says:

    Congratulations to Serena.

  20. QQ says:

    BALLER BOSS OF MY HEART! levels besides stealing the thunder from cheater mc blandaface BUT also She is just living her life and providing us with ADECUATR EQUAL FOOTED OBNOXIOUSLY WEALTHY PLAYMATES TO ONE BLUE IVY OF THE HOUSE CARTER, Im deeelighted! Of ALL the people pregnancy twinsing with Beysus or attempting to LOL #BlackJoy On twitter about this is LIFE AFFIRMING

    • Nikki says:

      You took the words right out of my mouth. Not really, but I love reading all your comments, especially this one about Queen Serena the Great.

    • steph says:

      Meh, Shes an amazing tenis player, but shes is still an asshole for taunting Alexis ex on instagram.

  21. whatever says:

    Mothers are going to rule the WTA Tour from Summer 2017 onwards!! I can see both Serena and Vika doing well in their comebacks and it will be great to see!

    Also people are forgetting that Vika won the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami) last year while pregnant. Personally I think winning the Sunshine Double is a harder task than winning the Australian Open. Firstly, you basically have to play for the an entire month solid rather than just 2 weeks. Then you have to fly in-between the tournaments, get used to a change in climate/temperature, a change in timezone, a change in court speed etc all while probably feeling sick.

    I just think that is much harder to do and she’s not getting enough credit for her achievement.

    • Bex says:

      Yes I was going to mention this when I saw Vika’s name in the post! The Indian Wells/Miami double is extraordinary in any circumstances, let alone while pregnant. These women (Serena especially, her achievements are mind boggling) are superhuman. I’m excited to have Azarenka back on tour, she’s a real sentimental fave of mine. Then you’ve got Novak Djokovic spouting nonsense about the men deserving higher pay because of ‘hormones’ or some nonsense. Pffffft.

      • whatever says:

        Djokovic is going to be eating humble pie in the years to come ;)…lets hope for him its gluten free haha!!

        Vika has also stated today that she may comeback earlier than the summer, possibly the grass season. She only gave birth like 5 minutes ago! superhuman indeed!!

  22. detritus says:

    On top of all the other excellence, that bathing suit is hot and I want it.

  23. OhDear says:

    Aw, congrats!

  24. suze says:

    These two are a great power couple, and will have little power babies. Love everything about this: them, the timing, the possibilities.

    Go Serena!

  25. PettyRiperton says:

    Amazing simply amazing

  26. sendepause says:

    Congrats to Serena!

  27. Nikki says:

    I’m one of her biggest fans, so this is WONDERFUL, EXCITING, STUPENDOUS!!!!!!! On par or even better than hoping for Harry’s engagement announcement!! Serena is the queen of all athletes: SO HAPPY!!!

  28. Tiffany27 says:

    Idk why this makes me so happy, but I’m so happy for her. Big congrats to her and her cute fiancee!

  29. Luca76 says:

    Oh wow i always had respect for her accomplishments but winning an Australian Open. NEVER DROPPING A SET. She doesn’t ever have to step on a court again.

  30. Michelle says:

    Two words: BAD ASS

  31. SpareMe says:

    Alexis is not a billionaire. He sold Reddit years ago and is definitely wealthy, but she has more scratch than he does.

    Not that it matters, I think they are a cute couple, even though Alexis lets his website be a recruiting tool and meeting place for the alt right (aka white nationalists). I don’t think he harbors sympathies or anything like that but Reddit tolerates that sh** and he’s the face of the company, so…

    • Cherise says:

      Reddit is in hard place with those groups. The bulk of users support the idea of free speech and leaving it to redditors to punish negative speech with downvotes. Guys generally react very badly when a sub is taken down solely on content of speech. Even when they disagree with that content. They equate it to censorship and even though a private company is entitled to censor on its platform, it can sabotage itself if it applies this too heavy handedly.

      The approach Reddit admins have taken is the smarter one. Closely monitor those subs for violations, however small and then take them down. Just last week they took down the main altright sub over crowdfunding to do some dumbass thing or other. Of course what those redditors then did is take over a different sub (i wont name it here) and change its theme from just misogyny to include racism. This is their pattern, they dont migrate to Voat, they just find a new Reddit home. Its also smart of Reddit to keep the main Trump sub alive because that sub is so big that the moderators have an interest to stick to the rules and keep the hate implicit rather than explicit. Reddit can then secretly manipulated the algorithms to keep them and their Russian bots off the top page. In fact, the new “Popular” as opposed to “All” thread was specifically designed to keep those subs in the reddit ghetto.

      All that to say, Reddit is doing the best it can in a difficult situation. Alex is particular has also in the past drawn fire for pushing to remove subs that were technically legal and playing by the official rules but morally ambiguous.

  32. Andrea says:

    Now if prince harry would just propose she and her bestie Meghan can squeal some more

  33. Gene123 says:

    Yay more babies! Cant wait until 20 years from now when this baby is winning grand slams too (my gut tells me shes having a girl)

  34. I Choose Me says:

    Woot! Congrats to Serena and her beau. This news puts a big ole smile on my face.

  35. Stephanie says:

    First, congratulations to Serena and Alexis!!! Second, it’s so amazing that she won the grand slam while pregnant. Such an inspiration. Third, I need your help. I’m under the impression that her snap was an accident. I think she meant to send it to individuals but posted to get story. Also, I think Alexis slipped earlier. They both have the she pic of Serena and her dog, Chip, in matching pink goodies on their IG. However, Alexis captioned it “like mother, like daughter.” Chip is a BOY. There is no way he doesn’t know that. I think Serena is having a girl. Can you look through her IG and confirm that it is in fact Chip in that pic?

  36. teacakes says:

    GOAT indeed <333333333333333333333

  37. Janice Jones-Harris says:

    I feel even more in love with her than before. My brother says he didnt need to wait to see her stomach he knew when her boobs grew
    and he did argue with my Mother on her being pregnant during that match

  38. Tania says:

    Truly the GOAT.

  39. Giddy says:

    What a very lucky baby!