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Serena Williams' passion for tennis might be passing to the next generation! On Monday, November 4, the tennis legend shared a heartwarming moment with her younger daughter, Adira, who seems to be taking her first steps toward the court. In an Instagram Reel, the 43-year-old athlete posted a clip showing 14-month-old Adira standing by her side on a tennis court, already curious about the game. In the adorable video, Adira picks up a tennis ball, and Serena encourages her little one to toss it into a basket of balls, saying, "Hey Adira, put it in here!"
But in true toddler fashion, Adira decides to blaze her path—dashing toward a fence, tossing the ball against it, and then wandering over to a nearby white bench. "She was just doing it, man," Serena can be heard saying as she laughs off the impromptu detour. "We turned on the camera, she don't want to do it."
Serena captioned the video with a playful question: "When's too early? @adiraohanian," hinting at her daughter's already budding interest in the sport. Fans and fellow athletes flooded the comments, delighted to see Serena sharing her love for the game with her youngest.
"When you don't know yet that the greatest athlete of all time is your mother 😍😍," a fan joked. "The next 2 sisters 🎾 The Ohanian' sisters," another person said, referring to her firstborn, 7-year-old Olympia, with husband Alexis Ohanian, 41. The family's posts often feature playful glimpses into their lives, and fans have previously watched Olympia accompany her mom courtside and even practice her swings on the court.
With Adira starting to explore her mom's world, it looks like both girls could be well on their way to carrying forward Serena's legacy—though, of course, on their terms!
© Getty ImagesSerena Williams reveals details about Adira's birth
Serena Williams experienced a harrowing childbirth with her firstborn, Olympia. During labor, things took a critical turn when Olympia’s heart rate dropped significantly during contractions, raising immediate concerns for the baby's well-being. As the situation escalated, medical professionals made the decision to perform an emergency C-section to ensure a safe delivery. Thankfully, Olympia was delivered safely, but the circumstances took a severe toll on Serena. Following the surgery, she faced life-threatening complications that nearly claimed her life. Despite the trauma, both mother and daughter eventually recovered, highlighting the intense challenges and risks associated with childbirth.
After such a terrifying experience, Serena shared her two childbirth experiences. Emergency C-sections are intimidating on their own, but Serena faced additional challenges when she was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism—a life-threatening blockage in one of her lung arteries caused by a blood clot that had traveled from another part of her body. To make matters worse, her surgical wound reopened, and when she returned to surgery, doctors discovered a hematoma, which is a collection of blood that pools outside of blood vessels.
© Getty ImagesSerena's experience left her on bed rest for six weeks. Once she returned to good health, she embraced motherhood, enjoying her time with her only child, Olympia. A few years later, when she learned that she was expecting Adira, who was born in August 2023, she took a proactive approach to her childbirth. "T" "This time I went in with a plan. I like to say I put my best effort out there, and this was no different," she said. "I literally thought about it as a Grand Slam: How can I succeed?”
Remembering the trauma and danger that accompanied Olympia's birth, she decided not to take any chances and scheduled a C-section in advance. "Looking back, I know I’ll never have that moment again," she shared with Glamour. "For whatever strange reason, that makes me a little sad, but I guess that’s just my own feeling."
