Serena Williams shared the most adorable Instagram photos on Thursday of her and her daughter Alexis Olympia in matching purple outfits, playing doubles.You can see her daughter imitating her “ready” stance and it’s just the best.
She asked the world to “caption this,” and that’s when the Australian Open’s Twitter account stepped in and totally nailed it.
They declared the pair 2017 Australian Open champions. And in case you don’t get that subtle joke, it’s a reminder that Williams won the title while eight weeks pregnant with Alexis Olympia. It was so good that Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, loved it.
The GOAT opened up about how she’s feeling during the health crisis with a little humor.
Like so many responsible people practicing social distancing during the COVID-19, or coronavirus, outbreak, Serena Williams is struggling to cope with the heightened anxiety she’s experiencing while being closed off from the rest of the world.
So the 23-time Grand Slam champion recently shared her thoughts and feelings with the world on social media, but she added a funny twist.
Lightening the mood while opening up about her coronavirus-related anxiety, Serena addressed her fans in a series of now-expired posts on her Instagram stories. Between each segment, she changed things up with colorful tutus and skirts and varying wigs.
But like a true GOAT, the constant in her outfits was a t-shirt with “LEGENDARY” written on it.
In the stories, she started by explaining how her perception of the novel coronavirus began to change when the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California — one of the biggest non-major tennis tournaments on the schedule — was canceled back in early March. It was one of the first sporting events in the U.S. to be impacted by the outbreak, but then they started piling on. And her anxiety and stress increased too.
Serena explains:
“It started out with me feeling like, ‘Oh, it can’t really affect me.’ And then suddenly, Indian Wells was canceled, and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s weird, but I have a little time off and I’m gonna enjoy that time off.’ And that one cancellation led to another and led to another and then led to all this anxiety I’m feeling, and I’m just like, now I’ve been social distancing for actually a really long time, for probably, like, two weeks now. But every little thing makes me really crazy.
“And by anxiety, I mean, like, I’m just on edge any time anyone sneezes around me or coughs I get crazy. And I don’t hang out with anyone. So when I say anyone I mean my daughter. She coughed, and I got angry. I gave her a side-eye. I gave her that ‘angry Serena,’ and then I got sad. I was like, ‘Is she OK? Is there something wrong with my daughter? Like, is there anything I can do?’ And I just don’t know what to do, so instead of being relaxed, I’m really under a ton of stress.
“I never expected to be relaxed but it is what it is and we’ll get through this, we have to. I just wanted to update you on what I was doing.
“Wait a minute. Did something change?”
In another recent video on her Instagram page, she said her next six weeks in solitude will include makeup tutorials.
Was Swift making a statement about how Williams was treated at the 2018 U.S. Open?
Taylor Swift dropped an incredible video for her newest song, The Man, on Thursday, in which the singer transformed into a bearded male to shine a light on double standards.
As many fans and outlets have noticed, the video is chock full of Easter eggs. Let’s focus on one in particular: Swift’s “man” plays tennis and ends up berating an umpire (played by her father, Scott Swift), complete with flipped double birds, wrecked rackets and thrown balls.
There are a lot of people who think that’s a clear reference to Serena Williams’ meltdown at a chair umpire at the 2018 U.S. Open final after he assessed Williams a warning for allegedly getting coached from the stands by Patrick Mouratoglou, an incident that ignited arguments about the differences in how male and female tennis players are treated.
this representation of serena was so meaningful because as a black women we're always read as angry and unprofessional. what happened in the us open was a demonstration of racism and sexism if she were a white man she wouldn't be penalized or questioned #TheManMusicVideopic.twitter.com/JCB4PSspuW
“You know my character, this is not right. To lose a game for saying that, it’s not fair. How many other men do things? There’s a lot of men out here who have said a lot of things. It’s because I am a woman, and that’s not right.” ~ serena williams #TheManMusicVideopic.twitter.com/Z3N1kQJP27
Taylor playing a man tennis player who threw a tantrum but got nothing a subtle shade on how they react when it’s a woman esp Serena….. pic.twitter.com/dstJiFFq13
— ⭐️ Just Juliette ⭐️ 🇫🇷🇵🇱🇨🇦💃🏽🐼 (@SussexDetective) February 27, 2020
Serena Williams battled through a 2-hour, 41-minute third-round match before losing to Qiang Wang in what ended as the longest match Williams has played in since returning to tennis after giving birth in September 2017.
Serena Williams battled through a 2-hour, 41-minute third-round match before losing to Qiang Wang in what ended as the longest match Williams has played in since returning to tennis after giving birth in September 2017.
Serena lost to Wang Qiang in a three-set match in the third round of the Australian Open.
Serena Williams’ search for her 24th Grand Slam victory continues.
After fighting back to force a third set of her third-round match against Wang Qiang in the Australian Open on Friday in Melbourne, she ultimately lost. Want played a fantastic final set against the GOAT before winning the whole thing, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5, and handing Williams her earliest Aussie Open exit in 14 years.
The two-hour and 41- minute match was the longest one Serena has played in since returning to tennis after giving birth in September of 2017, according to ESPN, and it was the total opposite of the last time these two played. At the U.S. Open last year, Williams crushed Wang, 6-1, 6-0, in just 44 minutes.
While 38-year-old Serena gave credit to 28-year-old Wang for out-playing her, she didn’t shy away from criticizing her own performance. But she also said Wang played “a little different” than the last time they faced off.
“I was optimistic that I would be able to win,” she said after the match about forcing the third set. “I thought, ‘OK, now finish this off.’ I honestly didn’t think I was going to lose that match.”
Williams was particularly critical about all the mistakes she made, finishing with 27 unforced errors compared with Wang’s 20. About that, she said: “I just made far too many errors to be a professional athlete today.”
And she continued criticizing herself while still explaining that she believes a record-tying 24th Grand Slam victory is still within reach. Her last major win was at the 2017 Australian Open, which she did while pregnant.
She continued:
“I definitely do believe [I can win another Grand Slam] or I wouldn’t be on tour. I don’t play just to have fun and to lose is really not fun to play to lose, personally. I seem to do well at the last two slams of the year. I’ve won them all several times so each one definitely is an opportunity for me to go out there and win. It’s not even about the slams. It’s about just me playing good tennis, and I didn’t do that today. And that is more disappointing. So it’s not even about the win. It’s just more about I’m better than that. …
“[Wang] served well. I didn’t return like Serena. Honestly, if we were just honest with ourselves, it’s all on my shoulders. I lost that match, so it is what it is. Like I said, it’s not about the tournament. It’s just like, I can’t play like that. I literally can’t do that again. That’s unprofessional, and it’s not cool.”
However, coming into the Aussie Open, she did win the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand earlier this month. Though not a Grand Slam, it was her first tournament win since having a baby.
Serena Williams is getting ready for the tennis season by training with Mike Tyson.
Serena Williams will return to the court to try and win her 24th Grand Slam singles title next month at the 2020 Australian Open, and she’s getting ready for the upcoming tennis season with a little cross-sport training with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Tyson shared video training session with Williams, who lit up a bag as Tyson provided instructions.
Former heavyweight champion has been giving tennis great Serena Williams a lesson on the finer points of boxing. He posted a video on his Instagram page showing him providing instructions and then having her hit a bag held by him.
He obviously liked what he saw, saying, “She has some power” and “I don’t want to get into the ring with this GOAT.”
There was no word on whether Williams has plans to start a second career in the sweet science.
Tyson took part in the “Mouratoglou Preseason,” which brings together tennis players and celebrities as part of a warm up for the coming season.
Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Michael Phelps are among the top athletes in the 2010s.
There have been many incredible athletes in the 2010s decade. Attempting to chronicle all is almost impossible. Here are some of the elite.
Sebastian Vettel
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Sebastian Vettel dominated F1 at the start of the decade, winning the championship in each year from 2010-13. He became the youngest double, triple and quadruple world champion in F1.
Few do social media better in their respective sports, and the entire sports world, than these 28 athletes.
While athletes becoming more than just talented individuals who help move the franchise in the right direction or add to the Gold medal count is not a new concept, social media’s rapid growth and capabilities have certainly changed the game. With the simple touch of a button, today’s top athletes can move the proverbial cultural needle, impacting interactions and the consumption of goods—even what we eat on Tuesdays.
But not all athletes who are on social media are created—or, in this case, retweeted—equally. International footballers currently reign supreme as some of the most influential, with a dash of tennis royalty and a wrestler who has inspired a ton of people to call that box of pizza they devoured their “cheat meal.” But when factoring in humanitarian efforts—as well as revenue from social posts and fan interactions—few ultimately do it better in their respective sports, and the entire sports world, than these 28 athletes.
LeBron James
(Getty Images)
Not many athletes—in any sport, in any part of the world—have taken advantage of social media better than LeBron James. His cultural impact as an athlete is nearly impossible to match, whether that be giving guys a reason to wear shorts with a suit, championing for the NCAA to change its act, or showcasing that an athlete can be “more.”
LeBron has some 97 million-plus followers across Instagram and Twitter, so when King James says #TacoTuesday…of course, there will be chants of the hashtag echoing at Staples Center or a social push for him to patent the phrase.
