Serena Williams is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time thanks to her stellar sporting career – and it appears her daughters may be poised to follow in her footsteps.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion was recently accompanied by her children, eight-year-old Olympia and two-year-old Adira, during a practice session on the historic courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.
The Marchioness of Bath, Emma Thynn, joined HELLO! in the Emirates x HELLO! Suite prior to Serena’s Centre Court match against Australian player Maya Joint, where she shed light on how the tennis legend’s daughters have been championing their mother.
Reflecting on Serena’s return to Wimbledon, Emma remarked: “Serena said she did it for her daughters. I think that’s the best thing in the world to show them how strong she is and how she is doing it with such joy and enthusiasm.”
© Hoda DavaineDescribing the girls’ interest in their mother’s profession, she continued: “They’ve been out on the court with her practising. It’s the sweetest, most inspirational thing ever.”
“She’s brilliant, she’s strong and she’s doing all the things and just doing it with such grace as always,” added Emma, who is a guest of Emirates, Official Airline Partner of The Championships.
© FilmMagicSerena has frequently shared glimpses of her daughters accompanying her on the tennis court over recent years, including a photo of Adira playfully swinging a racket. Captioning the Instagram post last year, Serena wrote: “This is me sharing my passion for tennis with my youngest daughter.”
Back in 2023, Serena discussed her efforts to encourage her eldest daughter to engage with the sport. “Olympia’s doing good. She doesn’t actually like to play tennis too much,” the tennis star said during an appearance on Person to Person With Norah O’Donnell. “That’s a little disappointing for me, but she’s actually really good at it. So we are trying to figure out a way to get her to play a little bit,” she added.
Serena Williams’ return to Wimbledon
With this Wimbledon appearance, Serena makes her return to professional singles tennis after almost four years. The 44-year-old, who has secured the Wimbledon singles title seven times, was awarded a coveted wildcard into the women’s singles draw at the 2026 Championships.
© AFP via Getty ImagesSerena, who shares her two daughters with husband Alexis Ohanian, said she has “nothing to prove” on her return to competitive tennis, emphasising that her participation is “really about my kids getting to see me play”.
“I don’t need to win,” she said. “I’ve won more than most people have in their whole lives, so for me it’s not important to me, and it’s important that I keep reminding myself of that, because I don’t have anything to prove, I don’t have anything to lose.”
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