Tennis star Serena Williams is on the cover of InStyle magazine’s latest issue.
The mum-of-one spoke to the magazine about motherhood, the pressure to perform as a champion, having a second child, how she met her husband Alexis Ohanian and more.
On meeting Alexis Ohanian: “I had this sense, like, ‘I’m going to marry this guy, but I’m not ready yet, but I know I’m going to marry this guy.’ I didn’t know his world at all, but I’ve always been tech-savvy. I had a few investments before I met him, and I wanted to know more. So we started talking, just as friends. Just casually chatting. I was getting hot when he was talking about it all [laughs]… I don’t know – I love his world.”
On possibly having a second child: “If I weren’t working, I’d already be pregnant…I don’t know if I want to play if I have another baby…”
On playing tennis after giving birth: “…I’m in the locker room pumping before a match because my boobs are so big. When I pump, they go down a size or two and I go out and play.”
On finding out she was pregnant during the Australian Open: I had a really tough first round and an even tougher second round. I thought, “I’m probably going to lose early. That’s OK. I have a good excuse for the first time.” I talked to the doctor, and I was like, “Do I need to pull out? Because it’s not worth it. This is, like, my baby. Can I do anything that’ll hurt her?” She said, “No. But just be careful in the hot weather, because that can be a problem.” I played on a day that was 104 degrees and asked for a really early time. The tournament director was like, “You never like to go on early. In 100 years you’ve never requested 11 o’clock.” And I was like, “Just trying something new!” I didn’t want to chance it with the baby.
