Serena Williams' family tree: Meet Reddit founder husband, dad and daughters of tennis legend
Serena Williams’ family tree: Meet Reddit founder husband, dad and daughters of tennis legend originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Williams sisters are one of the most iconic duos in sports history with 30 grand slam wins between them. For Serena, who stepped away from tennis in 2022 as one of the greatest players of all-time, a strong family around her helped make that success possible.
Williams broke into professional tennis as a teenager and left it married with children, along with the support from her sister and others in the family.
As she makes he return to tennis, Williams will do so with a stronger support system than ever.
Here’s a closer look at Williams’ family, from sister Venus to husband Alexis.
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Serena Williams’ sister: Venus Williams
Williams’ sister, Venus, was one of the most successful tennis players of the 2000s, winning Wimbledon five times after debuting as a professional at just 17 years old.
As Serena found success in the 2010s, Venus started to struggle with injuries. Her final grand slam singles win came in 2008, but she and Serena continued to be powerhouses in doubles and won a whopping 14 doubles grand slams together.
Venus took some time away from the court in the 2020s but has been adamant that she isn’t retiring and competed in the Australian Open in 2026.
Upon retiring, Serena gave all of the credit to her Venus. “I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus, so thank you, Venus,” Serena said. “She’s the only reason Serena Williams ever existed.”
Are Serena Williams and Venus Williams twins?
The Williams sisters have a close bond, but they aren’t twins. Venus was born in June of 1980, while Serena was born more than a year later in September of 1981.
Venus Williams grand slam wins
Venus has seven singles grand slam wins in addition to 14 doubles wins. Venus’ first singles grand slam win came at Wimbledon in 2000 when she was only 20, and five of her singles titles came at Wimbledon. Venus also won back-to-back US Open titles in 2000 and 2001.
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Serena Williams’ husband: Alexis Ohanian
Williams married her husband, Alexis Ohanian, in 2017 after getting engaged in 2016.
The two met in 2015 when they were seated near each other at an event in Rome. Williams invited Ohanian to watch her play at the French Open, which marked the first time Ohanian had even watched tennis. From there, the two struck up a relationship.
“I really had no respect for tennis,” Ohanian joked to Vanity Fair.
Ohanian is a millionaire who co-founded social media site Reddit. After graduating from the University of Virginia, he and former college roommate Steve Huffman came up with the idea for the site and successfully pitched it to technology company Y-Combinator.
Ohanian left Reddit in 2010 but returned along with Huffman, who is still the site’s CEO, in 2015. Ohanian stepped down from Reddit’s day-to-day operations in 2018 but remained on the company’s board until resigning in 2020 and asking the board to hire a Black man as his replacement in the days after the George Floyd protests.
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Serena Williams’ dad: Richard Williams
Williams’ father, Richard, was her and Venus’ coach growing up. Set on making his daughters tennis stars, Richard started coaching them at age four and dedicated a great deal of his time to making sure they stayed on track.
Richard himself never actually played tennis, instead learning by watching videos after seeing Virginia Ruzici win the 1978 French Open and becoming inspired.
Richard put Serena and Venus in Rick Macci’s tennis academy in Florida in the early 1990s until they turned professional in 1995.
In 2021, Richard was the subject of biopic “King Richard,” which played on the nickname he gave himself during his time as his daughters’ coach. The film, which the sisters said is mostly accurate, starred Will Smith as Richard Williams and won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2022.
Serena Williams’ mom: Oracene Price
Williams’ mother, Oracene Price, met Richard Williams at a bus stop in 1979 and married just a year later. Venus was also born in 1980, followed by Serena a year later.
At the time she met Richard, Price had already been married once and had three daughters from the relationship. Price divorced Richard in 2002, just as Venus and Serena were becoming global stars.
Originally from Michigan, Price relocated to Southern California and ultimately to Florida with the family so Serena and Venus could be coached by Macci. Price didn’t coach Serena from a technical standpoint, but Serena credits her mom with giving her the strength and poise under pressure that allowed her to be so successful.
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How many kids does Serena Williams have?
Williams and Ohanian have two daughters together, one born in 2017 and another born in 2023.
Serena Williams daughters
Williams gave birth to daughter Olympia on Sept. 1, 2017. Olympia’s full name is Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., and she has been seen at numerous public events with her parents. Olympia is interested in piano and soccer, her father told People Magazine.
Williams and Ohanian welcomed a second daughter, Adira, in 2023.
Serena Williams siblings
Venus is Serena’s only full sibling, but Williams has three half-sisters from her mom’s previous marriage and several more half-siblings through her father’s other relationships.
While not as many details are known about Williams’ half-siblings on her father’s side, her half-sisters through her mom are Yetunde Price, Isha Price and Lyndrea Price. Yetunde was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton, California in 2003.
Despite not being full siblings, Williams and her late half-sister had a strong relationship. “Yetunde and I were so close; she changed my diapers,” Williams told People Magazine in 2007.
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Where is Serena Williams from?
Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but her family relocated to Compton, California early in her life.
When she was nine, Williams moved with her family to West Palm Beach, Florida, where she honed in on tennis and became one of the best young players in the world.
Today, Williams and Ohanian live together in Florida.
