Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian has revealed how they make their marriage work despite their busy schedules. The Reddit founder and tennis champion tied the knot in November 2017 just two months after welcoming their daughter, Alexis Olympia, and while they both often have to travel for work, they try not to go more than a week without seeing each other.
“Comparing calendars isn’t romantic, but at the start of every year, Serena and I map out our schedules so that, ideally, there isn’t more than a week that we go without seeing each other,” Alexis wrote in a feature for Glamour. “I brought Google Calendar into her world so we could see each other’s schedules at any time, which would also make it easier to plan an impromptu call if we’re away from each other—a day without FaceTime is rough when you’ve been away from each other for two weeks.”
Alexis also tries to make romantic gestures to his wife to ensure she always feels special, and while he once put up billboards to celebrate Serena’s return to competitive tennis after the birth of their daughter, he says day-to-day their relationship is much more low-key. The couple ensure Sundays are their day for quality family time, inspired by Alexis’ own childhood.
“So on Sunday mornings I make breakfast for the family and it doesn’t cost me a thing, except for gluten-free flour (I had to modify Dad’s recipe a bit), some eggs, almond milk, a secret ingredient, and berries (Olympia loves raspberries). There are no phones, just conversation,” Alexis explained.
He added: “And we’ll spend the day together lounging around the house, or playing hide-and-seek, or going for a swim in the pool. Just being a family on those days means so much to both of us—more than a billboard, a video montage, or a whirlwind trip to Italy.”
Ohanian on how his perspective has changed since marriage to Serena Williams
Speaking at Business Insider’s IGNITION conference in New York, Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian commented on how his perception towards tennis changed since he met Serena, whom he married in November 2017.
The couple is parents to a daughter, Alexis Olympia who was born in September 2017. “I played team sports my entire life and I thought tennis was a joke of a sport. I thought it was something people did for giggles when they wanted to get a little exercise.
I would change the channel when it came on,” confessed Ohanian. The Reddit co-founder added: “I was so naive and so wrong and my entire mindset of sport… no matter what day I was having, there were 10 other guys on the field or four other guys on the court who were there to help me out because it was team-based.
To take rejection and defeat and to be able to find that next gear and that higher level is something she has turned into an artform and is unparalleled at. That is a mental strength that doesn’t get enough credit in sport.
The mental strength it requires when you are alone out there with just one other person combined with the mental reset that is required between every serve is unmatched in terms of physical strength required to be great. That universal truth I see it in the beauty of the sport but not just when she’s playing it, also in the preparation leading up to it.”
Williams who returned to the Tour after giving birth to her daughter has reached four Major finals (2018 Wimbledon and US Open, and 2019 Wimbledon and US Open).
