Serena Williams Cheered On During U.S. Open By Biggest Fan, Daughter Olympia

Serena Williams was cheered on during the U.S. Open by her biggest fan and mini me, her daughter Olympia. 

As Williams makes the rounds for her final show on the court, everyone is tuned in to see greatness take the stage. The end of an era is putting it lightly. When Williams announced her impending retirement via Vogue earlier this month, we think we all shed a collective tear. 

On Monday night, the tennis icon showed up at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first round of the U.S. Open, and while the young girl with beaded braids we first saw so many years ago was long gone, a grown woman with years of wins and an illustrious career replaced her, this time donning diamonds in her hair. 

The crowd roared as Williams stepped out in a sparkly get-up that turned heads, The Washington Post reports. As ESPN cameras panned to the crowd, it stopped on Williams’ daughter, 4-year-old Olympia Ohanian, who wore a similar outfit as her mother, and as she turned her head, there were the signature cornrows and white beads her mother wore during her first U.S. Open in 1999.

“It was either her wear beads or me. I wanted to do it, but I just didn’t have the time…was so happy when she had them on. It’s perfect on her,” Williams told reporters. 



According to The New York Times, Olympia made her first appearance at the Australian Open in 2017, from inside her mother’s belly. Williams won that match and now the boss baby is cheering from the player’s box this time around. As she sat on dad Alexis Ohanian’s lap and played with her aunt Isha Price’s hair, Olympia took the cuteness to another level when she pulled out her old school camera to snap pictures of her mom. The gesture was a homage to grandfather Richard Williams, who snapped his pictures of Williams from the stands back in 1999. 

Williams made it very clear that while she doesn’t take joy in retirement, it is these priceless moments with Olympia that are the motivation. Not only does she want more time to spend with her daughter and family, but she also wants to have more children, something she doesn’t think she can do while continuing to be an athlete. 

“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 was doing the physical labor of expanding our family. Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity,” Williams previously told Vogue.

After Williams won her first-round singles match, the tennis superstar spoke with reporters about how the crowd, daughter, and husband included, really helped her on the court.  

“The crowd was crazy. They really helped pull me through. I was really pumped up, like, ‘Yes, I got this.’”

You do have this! And Olympia’s got you!