Serena Williams Announced Her Second Child's Birth in the Cutest Way
Updated Aug. 22 2023, 7:57 p.m. ET
Tennis legend Serena Williams has always defined herself on her terms. In 2022, the champion wrote an essay for Vogue announcing her retirement from the sport and her intentions to grow her family.
And then, in early 2023, Serena announced that she was pregnant with her second child. She and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, welcomed their second child on Aug. 22, 2023. Here's everything we know about the star's growing family.
Serena Williams gave birth to her second child.
On May 1, 2023, Serena announced her pregnancy in an adorable post on Instagram. She simultaneously showed off her and Alexis's Met Gala outfits and her new baby bump. "Was so excited when Anna Wintour invited the three of us to the Met Gala," she captioned the post, which includes pictures of her cradling her belly. The congratulatory comments immediately started pouring in.
In the past, Serena has been open about her desire to expand her family. In a 2022 essay for Vogue, Serena revealed that she would be stepping away from the sport of tennis because her priorities lie elsewhere. She wrote, "These days, if I have to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter."
In June 2023, Serena celebrated her pregnancy with a babymoon in Europe. She traveled with the whole family, including her daughter Olympia, who took the opportunity to pose in a series of cute pics on Instagram. "When your kid can't stop posing," Serena captioned the carousel of photos. "Pics from our #babymoon #2023."
On Aug. 22, 2023, Serena shared some very exciting news. Her second child had been born. She posted on TikTok a video of her and her family, bringing out the new baby at the very end. "Welcome my beautiful angel," she captioned the post in reference to the Bazzi song that was playing.
They also revealed the baby's name: Adira River.
While Serena didn't want children at the beginning of her career, she has been an extremely hands-on parent since the birth of her daughter Olympia in 2017. In her essay, Serena revealed that the duo has only spent one 24-hour period apart in the past five years of Olympia's life.
And now, Olympia is a big sister, something that she has wanted for a while. In Serena's essay, she wrote, "We’re in my car, and [Olympia's] holding my phone, using an interactive educational app she likes. This robot voice asks her a question: What do you want to be when you grow up? She doesn’t know I’m listening, but I can hear the answer she whispers into the phone. She says, 'I want to be a big sister.'"
