Above is Serena Williams winning her 23rd grand slam title on Day 13 at the 2017 Australian Open (Jan. 27, 2017 – Source: Graham Denholm/Getty Images AsiaPac)
With two simple words and a photo, Serena Williams shocked the world. She announced her pregnancy today on Snapchat with the phrase: 20 weeks. 20 weeks is a very long time for a person as hardworking and successful as Serena Williams, and it had us wondering, what all has she done while she has been keeping this a secret? We went back through her public life and found some things that most people wouldn’t be able to do on their best day, let alone while carrying life inside their stomach.
In early January, Serena Williams took on NBA superstar Steph Curry in a ping pong challenge sponsored by Chase Bank. As with everything that Queen Rena does, the event went viral and spawned the clashing hashtags #TeamStephen and #TeamSerena. The star studded “competition” was fierce and destructive, and both Serena and Steph showed off their athleticism in a sport that doesn’t necessarily require it. The whole match, plus the tornado-like aftermath can be seen here in all of its gory detail.
Presumably 2 months into her private pregnancy, Serena beat her sister in a historic Australian Open final. She did so taking out Belinda Bencic, Coco Vandeweghe, Johanna Konta and more on her way to a 6-4 6-4 victory over her sister. Whether or not Venus knew that her little sis was pregnant during the match is still unknown, but on that crisp Melbourne night, the Williams sisters had an epic duel for the ages. Coupled with the Fedal final that happened shortly after, this family feud reignited the passion of many tennis fans.
Before her announcement, Serena’s Snapchat was known for another viral stunt. In late February, she crashed a casual game of tennis on a public court in San Francisco, giving two players the experience of her life. Although she was not dressed for the occasion, Serena challenged the two to a friendly game, which the accepted immediately. The entire thing was documented on Snapchat by her Fiancé and founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian. She wasn’t using her typical Blade or even wearing tennis clothes, but that didn’t stop her. Neither did her pregnancy, possibly entering the 2 month territory at this point in time.
Everyone saw the jaw-dropping photos published in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Since Danica Patrick posed in 2008, SI has used female athletes as models to varying degrees of engagement. As she is one to do, Serena set the internet ablaze with her photos, displaying almost every part of her body, including her previously unknown baby bump. Serena Williams looks undoubtedly amazing and powerful, and even looking back at the photos, it is clear that Serena hid it well.
Serena since deleted the infamous snap, but there has been radio silence on her end since this morning. There are rumors of this being a hoax or a hack or just a goof, but we think its for real. This could mean that we may never see Serena on a professional tennis court again, but who knows. The woman who has dominated the WTA for so long has already done so much that us mere mortals could never imagine, anything is possible!
Do you want to the next tennis champion? Visit Tennis Express and pick up all of your on-court needs. From string, to shoes, to racquets, to bags, we have all of the products for you, and the information to help you make the right choices for your game.
