D’Arcy MaineESPN.com8:32 PM ET2 Minute Read
Tennis great Serena Williams is pregnant with her second child, she announced in an Instagram post Monday night before attending the Met Gala.
“Was so excited when Anna Wintour invited the three of us to the Met Gala,” Williams captioned a photo of herself with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
Williams and Ohanian are already parents to 5-year-old Olympia, who Williams gave birth to in September 2017. She found out she was pregnant just before the tournament started.
In August, 41-year-old Williams announced in a first-person essay for Vogue that she was “moving away” from tennis, citing a desire to expand her family.
“For the last year Alexis and I have been trying to have another child and we recently received some information from my doctor that puts my mind at ease and makes me feel like we can expand our family whenever we are ready. ‘ Williams wrote in the essay. “As an athlete, I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again.
Williams has spoken publicly about her difficult birth in 2017 and the lengthy recovery that followed. Despite this, she returned to professional tennis just six months later.
Despite failing to win a 24th major title – which would have equaled Margaret Court’s long-standing record for most times – she reached four major finals and won a title in Auckland in 2020.
During her last tournament at the 2022 US Open, Williams captivated fans with her run into the third round, which included a win over second-seeded Anett Kontaveit. After losing to Ajla Tomljanovic, Williams tearfully told the crowd her career had been “the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever been on”.
Williams — a longtime friend of Wintour, the Vogue editor-in-chief and co-chair of the Met Gala — frequently attends the annual event, which benefits the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.