Serena Williams brought the power to the US Open on Monday night, but the cuteness quotient was boosted by someone else.
Her daughter, Olympia Ohanian – that’s Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. — offered her own entertainment the moment she set foot on Arthur Ashe Stadium, serenading a celebrity-laden crowd with pearl braids that were a touching callback to her mother’s first of six 1999 US Open Championships.
Wearing glittering attire that mimicked her mother’s, she took pictures and chatted with her father as Williams took care of business by dispatching Danka Kovinic in a straight-sets first-round victory.
“It was either her pearls or me,” Williams told reporters afterward. “I wanted to do it, but I just didn’t have time … was so happy when she wore them. It’s perfect for her.”
Olympia, who turns 5 on Thursday, is a child prodigy in her own right. Olympia’s resume, in no particular order, includes making the cover of the September issue of Vogue (the fold-out part; mom got the cover treatment), owning an Instagram account with more than 600,000 followers, and incredibly adorable photos of her antics; and became the youngest co-owner in professional sports when she was part of a group that acquired Los Angeles’ Angel City football franchise at the age of 3.
In between taking pictures of mom, Olympia played with her aunt Isha Price’s hair and sat clapping for the action on dad’s lap. Afterwards there was ice cream in the player’s lounge.
In the Vogue interview, Williams explained that she is weeks away from settling into a life away from the court, one that will include business ventures and possibly expanding her family.
“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning, while my wife did the physical work of growing our family,” Williams told Rob Haskell. “Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had the opportunity. Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia.
“I was one of those annoying women who loved being pregnant and worked until the day I had to report to the hospital – even though things got super complicated on the other side [when she nearly died]. And I almost did the impossible: A lot of people don’t realize I was two months pregnant when I won the Australian Open in 2017. But I turn 41 this month [Sept. 26]and something has to give.”
But not quite yet. A second-round singles match on Wednesday against second-seeded Anett Kontaveit looms, as does doubles with her sister Venus, and enthusiasm is only likely to grow.
“The crowd was crazy,” Williams said during the postgame ceremony, with her husband and daughter standing nearby. “They really helped pull me through. I was really pumped up, like, ‘Yeah, I got it.’”