01x07 - Love All

[bunniefuu]

[Serena Williams]

My relationship with tennis

is a love/hate relationship.

I absolutely love playing tennis.

It seems a little bit like a dream.

Like, is this really my life?

The best place to be

is walking in front of a crowd.

-[announcer] Serena Williams!

-[crowd cheers]

[Serena] Everyone's

clapping and roaring,

and it's such an amazing,

awesome experience.

[crowd cheering]

But at the same time,

it takes away so much from your life.

It definitely can be lonely at the top.

And particular to tennis,

people don't realize

how many hours you spend by yourself.

So much so that it was hard for me

in a relationship,

because I'm, like,

so used to being alone.

And it's worth the cost,

but there's always a trade-off.

[theme music playing]

Good morning. This is Lexis.

She is three years old.

-[young Serena] I'm three years old.

-[both laugh]

[Serena] Growing up,

I've always wanted to get married

and I've always wanted to have kids.

It was always my goal.

I used to always play with my dolls.

They were always getting married.

[laughs] And I didn't have

a lot of dolls,

so I would break off the arms

and the legs of some dolls,

and the arm would get married

to the leg or whatever.

I have always had

long distance relationships,

and I think the fact

that I travel so much in tennis

and that one day you're in Australia,

the next day you're in India

or somewhere insane,

I think that it definitely

is not easy to have a relationship.

But at the same time,

I kind of liked that

'cause I love my space, you know?

I love being distant,

and I am definitely an avoidant.

[birds squawking]

In 2015, I was living

in a house with Venus.

If people wanna hit and dance, okay

I don't wanna waste ♪

[Serena] We're both in our thirties

and we had the ultimate bachelorette pad

and it was so fun.

And we would go to Miami

and we would stay up all night.

Put 'em in your place ♪

[Jill Smoller] I always say I did some

of my best agenting during those years.

But what I learned is that the best way

for her to deal with pressure

and not feel it was if you have chaos.

She played her best

when she had other things to worry about

other than history and title

and must-win.

It was a great time.

Especially growing up in tennis,

you really don't have a lot of moments

to just be a normal person.

And we kind of, like,

had our normalness as best as we could,

and we had a blast.

I wasn't looking to get married.

I wasn't looking for anything.

I was just, you know,

living my best life.

[laughs]

I'm Alexis Ohanian.

For a long time

I was known as the creator of Reddit.

And I'm the husband of Serena Williams,

which is why

you're interviewing me right now.

[dramatic music playing]

So May 12th, 2015, I'm in Rome.

It's this Festival of Media.

[Serena] We were in Rome,

and I didn't really

want to play Rome that year

because it was just, like,

I wanted just to get ready

for the French Open,

and I was just exhausted.

[reporter] Welcome to day two

of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

The WTA tennis stars are here

and ready to hit the court in Rome.

When I play tennis,

I usually never leave my room.

It's so extreme as to a point

where I don't even go downstairs

and eat breakfast at the buffet.

I order room service.

I never leave my room

until it's time to go to the tennis.

And I was going back and forth,

like, do I focus, do I go downstairs?

Finally I'm, like, I'll go downstairs.

-[alarm beeps]

-[Alexis] I sleep in the next morning,

and I'm addicted to coffee,

so first thing, I get up,

I go downstairs,

I ask, "Can I get some coffee?"

Unfortunately

The breakfast area was closed,

so they said

you can eat breakfast at the pool.

[whimsical music playing]

There was not another person

in the restaurant,

and it was just us

and we had a bunch of tables.

And then in walks this guy,

this really tall guy.

And I just grab a seat.

I don't care where I'm sitting.

There's a bunch of tables open.

I take out my laptop and I get to work.

He sits down to the table next to us

that I was, in my mind,

thinking was gonna be

for the rest of our team.

And she was like, "Ugh.

"Like, the whole place is empty,

and this guy's sitting here?"

We're talking about him,

like, under our breaths.

But we're just, like, "Ugh.

How do we get this guy to go away?"

And not long thereafter,

this Australian voice calls out,

[in Australian accent] "Hey, mate,

there's a rat at your table."

And we all pretended to get up,

and Alexis didn't move.

He's, like, "Is there really a rat?

"'Cause I'm from Brooklyn

and I'm not afraid of rats."

But the woman next to him turns around,

and she's, like

"We were kind of saving that table

for someone else."

I'm, like, oh, it's Serena Williams.

What are the odds?

Basically he was, like,

"I'm not moving."

And I was thinking, "Ugh."

And he's just, like, on his computer

typing and typing and typing.

I'm just, like,

"Oh, my God, this guy is so annoying."

Anyway, I'm, like,

"Okay, so what are you doing here?"

"Are you here for the tech conference?"

It was probably the laptop

that made it obvious

I was here for the tech conference.

And I said, "Yes."

She asked me

who I was here to see speak.

I said, "No one. I'm speaking."

She asked why I was speaking,

what my company was. I said, "Reddit."

I had never heard of Reddit

'cause, you know,

they were skewing

towards a different audience, I'll say,

-to be nice.

-[chime dings]

[laughs]

I was, like, "Oh, I love that website.

It's so cool."

She pretended like

she knew what Reddit was. She didn't.

And he said,

"Oh, yeah, what's your favorite?"

And I was, like, uh

"The Reddit." [laughs]

I don't really give my number out,

and so I was, like,

"Let me take your number."

We had started

talking about investments.

I think she asked for my number

in the context of discussing,

like, tech investing or tech stuff

that she was thinking about,

which I think she maintains

to this day was genuine.

Like, it was platonic at that point.

Then Serena went up

to prepare for her match,

and invited him to the match.

And again, I'm thinking, like,

"God, I hate tennis."

I've never watched it.

I have no interest.

But you get an invite to see

Serena Williams play a tennis match,

of course you're gonna do it.

I was very aware that this is

the greatest tennis player, right?

I knew that.

But I had just no interest in the sport.

[linesman] Out!

[Alexis] But it was really interesting.

As I'm watching her play,

I was blown away.

This is a way more intense sport

than I ever realized,

physically and mentally.

[grunts]

[crowd gasping]

[commentator] What great tennis

at the end especially,

but it is Serena Williams

making it to round three.

I was sitting with a friend of hers.

After, she was, like, "Oh, you should

come back with us. We've got a car."

So I'm, like, "Sure."

And this big guy gets in the car,

and he gets in the front seat.

And I look at Jill sitting next to me,

"Jill, why do we have security?

And at this point,

I go from being really happy

to being really angry,

because I'm, like,

"How many times

are you gonna hide stalkers from me?

"Why do we have to have extra security?"

I'm, like, "Security?

"That the dude from brunch.

He came to your match."

And she was, like

[gasps] "Oh, my God."

And then we got home. She's, like,

"I don't wanna have dinner."

I was tired and I had

a new match the next day,

so I was just, like,

"Oh, whatever. We'll see."

We talked about maybe meeting up,

but I had some plans, buh-buh-buh.

It just didn't happen.

[gentle music playing]

I flew back thinking that was fun,

and I have zero expectations

of seeing any of those humans ever again

and that's cool.

[keyboard clicking]

I feel like we exchanged

some nice messages, maybe mildly flirty,

and at some point she mentioned

being a little dinged up,

not playing at her best,

wanting me to see her play in Paris.

And then I was, like, "Great."

She told me later

that this was an LA invite,

which means, it's not a real invitation.

It's something you say in passing,

but you don't really mean it,

and I didn't mean it at all.

You know, he was, like,

"I'm coming. I'll be there."

And I was, like, "Oh, this is weird."

I definitely

didn't expect him to say that

'cause I wasn't thinking like that.

But then I'm not silly.

I also knew that the conversation

had turned a little bit to more, like,

"Oh, I'm kind of into you maybe?"

[Alexis] And I said to myself,

worst case scenario,

I'm gonna have a great story

of how Serena Williams invited me out

to see a match at the French Open,

and then totally ignored me.

I did blow him off for a few days

because I was, like, this guy's weird

coming all the way to Paris.

Eventually she came around.

Because I was, like,

"Let me take you to dinner."

And she was, like, "Okay,

"but I'm gonna bring

my agent and my assistant."

[whimsical music playing]

And I thought, "All right,

this is some Hollywood stuff."

Fine. You don't know who I am.

I'm a big dude.

Like, I might be nuts,

so you bring backup.

I'm, like, what are we doing?

Why are we on this date with you?

But it was, like, a comfort level.

I was, like, I don't really

wanna go to dinner with this guy

because I went on his Instagram

and he had pictures,

of, like, someone else.

And I was, like, "Oh, my God, this guy

has a girlfriend. What a sleaze bag."

It was like an interview panel,

because it was the three of them,

Serena, her assistant, her agent,

and then me

on the other side of the table.

And they just bombarded me

with questions.

Yeah, I totally tried

to get the book on him right away.

Jill asked him straight out, like,

"What's up with your girlfriend?"

And he was, like,

"I don't have a girlfriend."

He was saying he had broken up with her.

It changed things when he said that,

because I was, like,

"Okay, now he's not being this beast."

[laughs]

[exhales] It was, like, two hours

of interrogation and questions.

Do I have kids? Am I married?

All this

Like, nothing was off limits.

During dinner, he started talking, like,

about Iron Man and stuff and Marvel,

and that's the way to my heart.

Like, this wasn't just a superficial,

like, "Hey, I've watched a few movies."

This is, like,

"I have deeply studied the text,

"and I have strong opinions

[chuckles] about this lore."

I mean, it was so fascinating

because they both loved the same things.

Like, he was into sci-fi

and cartoons and superheroes.

I'm, like, "Jesus, she finally

can talk to someone

"who likes the things that she does."

And I guess I passed the test,

so that the next day I texted her.

I was, like, "Last night was fun,

but I'm gonna pick you up.

"We're gonna spend the day together

in Paris, and it's just gonna be us."

[reporter] And bonjour

from this beautiful backdrop.

In the long sporting history of Paris,

they've never seen

a quarter final match

[Jill] Most of the time

during Grand Slams,

tension starts to ratchet up

and her mood switches

and she tends to insulate.

So she didn't used to go around,

go to museums, do fun things.

She'd go to the courts from 7:00 to 9:00

or from 8:00 to 10:00,

practice, and then

be in the hotel all day,

either watching Little Mermaid

or cartoons or tennis film.

Usually I just sit and do nothing.

So I had all this time on my hands.

It's, like, what am I gonna do?

And I told Serena, I was, like,

"Hey, let's just not have a date.

"Let's just walk around."

You know,

Paris is a city she's been to for,

at that point,

probably a couple decades.

But who she is means

having a nice day just wandering around,

going to the market, getting a coffee,

wasn't very easy.

And so I got to expose her to a thing

that I genuinely loved

and frankly took for granted.

[Serena] We had lunch,

and then, you know,

I had on my little disguise

so people wouldn't over-recognize me.

I was very much a fame-antidote

because we're walking around Paris,

and these French people would be, like,

[in French accent]

"Is it Serena Williams?"

[in normal voice]

Then they'd look at me and be,

[in French accent]

"Impossible. No, definitely not."

[romantic music playing]

[Alexis in normal voice] The entire day

we just meandered around Paris.

[Serena] It's kind of like

out of a movie.

Instead of Emily In Paris,

it was more just, like, Serena In Paris.

Everything we did was just so fun

and we had great conversations.

And we were in an Uber on the way back,

I saw a sign that said, "Zoo."

And I was, like,

"Zoo in the middle of Paris?"

I've been to Paris a hundred times.

I never saw this zoo.

And I was, like,

"Let's stop the car, stop the car."

[growling]

[hooting]

[Alexis] We went to the zoo.

There was this beautiful snow leopard.

And so this leopard, it's feeding time,

and there's a dead rabbit

that gets chucked into this leopard,

and this leopard rips it in half.

Blood everywhere.

And everyone in the crowd gasps,

including Serena.

And at this point, I comfort her.

"It's all right, baby.

"Don't worry. It's fine."

[laughs]

Yeah, and [laughs]

I was, like, oh, wow.

"Thank you, snow leopard."

It was honestly

a really awesome, fun day,

and it was like Cinderella at one point

because it was, like,

"Oh, my God, it's 6:00, 7:00.

"I gotta go

'cause I have to train in the morning."

And I, for the first time,

understood how Cinderella felt

when she was at the ball.

[clock dinging]

[Fairy Godmother]

The spell will be broken

as soon as the clock strikes 12:00.

[Alexis] I brought her back

to her apartment.

Kissed her goodbye.

She did a little pirouette.

And I was, like, all right.

Like, I think there's something here.

We had such an amazing time in Paris,

it was, like, you know, we gotta,

see if this is something,

you know, or not.

[Jill] It was so great

having someone in her universe

who had so little to do

with what she did

and didn't really have

that much of an awareness about her.

They came from such different worlds.

We all now take for granted the role

that technology and the Internet,

in particular, plays in our lives.

I'm really into just continuing

to be the greatest champion

that I can be.

What a lot of these companies are doing,

though, really is transformational.

[commentator] Serena Williams

is Wimbledon champion

for the sixth time.

She's a Grand Slam champion

for the 21st time.

One more to equal Steffi Graf,

two more to eclipse her.

[Jill] He would come travel with her

two, three weeks for Grand Slams.

Do his meetings, stay up all night.

He was incredibly supportive.

I think the hardest part

is with two incredibly intense, driven,

success-oriented people,

finding and holding space

for us to be a couple together.

[Jill] You have to be with someone

who's secure enough

that they let light shine on you.

You know, she takes up a lot of space

and a lot of light.

[screaming] We love you, Serena!

Yes, Black girl magic!

I just came out of a meeting,

and look at that.

One of the best lessons I've gotten

from, still getting from her,

is seeing how well

she can actually turn off.

Meow, meow.

[Alexis] The nature of tennis life

is intense stress.

-[grunts]

-Aah!

[cheering and applause]

And then intense ennui and boredom,

because you're back at the hotel room

and you're just sitting there

and you're recovering,

you're getting treatment.

You're just decompressing, right?

And so that follows this intense path,

whereas I'm like this the whole time.

And the hard part for me

is actually turning that switch off,

because I could just go.

But the pressure of what she has to do

is so, so, so, so great

that's she's gotta figure out

how to turn it off,

and she's gotten amazing at it.

Okay, so we're shopping for bikes,

and what is this?

Taco Bell. [laughs]

I'm done with you.

[Serena] When I show up at a tournament,

all eyes are on me,

and everyone expects me to win,

and there's so much pressure

and there's so much press,

and there's so much everything.

It's like so much all on Serena.

Most of the time during Grand Slams,

she becomes somewhat diabolical,

and you always know it's coming.

Um, it's 11:30.

To be perfectly honest with you,

I don't wanna be here.

[people chuckle]

I just wanna be in bed right now,

and I have to wake up early to practice.

And I don't wanna answer

any of these questions,

and you guys keep asking me

the same questions, so

I remember telling him early on,

like, "Let me explain something to you.

"Three weeks at a time

"four times a year,

"your life is gonna be hell."

[crowd cheering]

"'Cause the tension starts to ratchet up

and her mood switches

"and she tends to insulate."

[Alexis] I know for those three weeks

four times a year

my job is to just be there

in whatever capacity she needs.

And so you're constantly trying to find

the equilibrium between the two of y'all

while each of you navigate

your own professional lives

as well as personal sh*t.

I'm definitely not

the easiest person to date.

I'm not looking

at the beginning of my career.

I don't have another ten years

to play at the time, you know.

It was like every Grand Slam counts.

[reporter] Here we are 20 years on

with Serena once again

trying to equal Steffi's tally

of 22 Grand Slam victories.

And standing in her way

[Alexis] I think one

of the most appealing things

about this relationship

was being with someone

who has obviously had to be

so incredibly driven and committed.

Because I've had trouble in the past

where that mismatch causes friction.

[grunts]

And so what it took was someone who

I knew I would never possibly outgrow.

She just understood in a deeper way

than I ever could what it takes.

[commentator] Magnificent cross court

from Williams.

[Jill] I think she is obsessed

with winning.

She's so competitive.

[grunts]

[commentator] There we are!

It's Serena Williams again!

Fourteen years

after that first victory here,

Grand Slam number 22.

[Alexis] When I finds other humans

who I feel can challenge me,

bring out the best in me, motivate me,

inspire me for whatever reasons,

they're people

I wanna keep closer to me.

And then when you find that in someone,

you know, you're also romantically into

and enjoy spending time with,

and can imagine

making a family with, et cetera,

it's almost a no-brainer.

[whimsical music playing]

[Alexis] My original plan

was to have a layover in Rome,

which was plausible

because she had an exhibition

she was gonna play in India.

I had Jill in on it, of course.

What we'll do is

I'm gonna tell her on the way home

we're gonna be stopping in Rome

for a meeting.

[Alexis] The whole thing

was pretty flimsy,

and three weeks before the flight,

all of a sudden

the exhibition was canceled.

And I'm, like, "We're dead."

So now we have no reason to go to India,

and thus, no reason to stop in Rome.

And so I was, like,

"Whew. I can just stay home.

So I flew from Los Angeles.

I got to the house.

And she's, like,

"You gotta get on the plane to Italy."

And I was, like,

"I don't wanna go to Italy, you know."

It's, like,

the flight was, like, in two hours.

[laughs]

She went crazy. She's, like,

"I'm not going. I have to train."

I get it. That's the right answer.

But I really needed her

to get on this plane.

[PA dings]

[phone line rings]

She tried to call me

while I was in the air,

and so all of those calls

went directly to voicemail.

And I'm that girl that'll call you,

like, 50 times in a row.

Guilty. That's me.

And then I land.

I see all these missed calls

or voicemails or all the things.

I'm just, like,

"Oh, damn it. This is bad."

By the time she landed in Rome,

she had ample time to think about

what the hell was gonna happen.

I started to put two and two together,

and I was, like

"Oh, okay.

I know what this guy's doing."

I think she was scared.

I was nervous. You know,

I've been living my whole life

with my sister in our house together.

I have a lot of freedom, you know.

I didn't want any of that to change.

But at the same time,

I also, since I was a young girl,

also had dreams of, like,

having a family and being married.

[giggling and laughing]

And, you know,

I was in love with this guy

that I had randomly met

and tried to get rid of

on many occasions.

So it was weird.

It was, like, "Okay, Serena.

Is this something that you want?

"Because there's

no turning back from this."

And I just took some time

to kind of meditate

and think about

what I wanted my future to be.

[Jill] She went down to the gym.

She did a sauna. She did a steam.

Then she came up

and she got in the bathtub.

And then she just made him wait

and wait and wait and wait.

And it was hours.

And then finally she was ready.

We worked with the hotel

to just block off everything

down where we met.

[Serena] When I walked downstairs,

there was red flower petals everywhere

and they all led to the table

that we had sat at.

And there was a rat

sitting on the table.

It was a fake rat,

but it was sitting on the table.

And Alexis was there,

and he had on a suit.

[Alexis] And I just

get down on one knee.

I say something really romantic.

She says, "Oh, my God, yes."

Put the ring on, there's kissing.

Cue the music.

Very romantic.

And that's it. We're engaged.

Boom.

[romantic music playing]

[reporter] Tennis legend Serena Williams

has touched down in Auckland

ahead of next week's ASB Tennis Classic.

And as if the arrival

of one of the biggest names

in sport wasn't enough,

she added to the occasion

by announcing her engagement.

[reporter 2] Overall,

it was a low key Kiwi welcome

for arguably the greatest

female tennis player in history.

2016 for me

was a really big disappointment.

I remember, obviously,

getting to the finals of Australia,

and being a set away

from, you know, getting 23,

and I didn't quite get there.

And now I was ready in 2017

to get back on the horse, so to say,

and do well.

I was, like, "This is my year.

This is my year to go for it."

Tried to get a few matches under my belt

before a big Grand Slam,

and so New Zealand it was.

[umpire] Game, set, and match, Williams.

[commentator] An emphatic finish

in her first match of the year.

[Serena] I won the first round,

and then I played Madison Brengle,

another American, in the second round.

And I say that

one of my biggest weakness in tennis

is the wind.

[commentator] You can just see

how fresh that wind is.

[Serena] And Madison Brengle,

she has, like, this really tricky game.

And I was so mad in that match,

between the wind and between her game,

and I just was going nuts.

[wind whooshing]

Physically I felt like,

"Why am I so tired?"

Like, this is ridiculous.

[linesman] Out!

[umpire] Game, set and match.

[commentator] Madison Brengle

cannot believe it.

She has pulled off

the upset of the year.

[Jill] She lost to somebody

that she couldn't possibly lose to,

and she could not hit a ball.

I was in one of the worst moods

I've ever been in on the court.

And I remember saying,

"I'm never coming back.

"I hate this tournament. It sucks."

I'm already so hard on myself,

so a match like that

would not destroy normal people,

but it destroys me.

Like, that makes me really upset.

[dramatic music playing]

I go to Melbourne after New Zealand

and I was in an elevator

with my friend Jessica,

who was also there

when I first met Alexis

all those years ago.

And she's, like,

"Girl, your boobs are big."

I'm, like, "They're always big, Jess.

Leave me alone."

She's, like,

"You should take a pregnancy test."

I'm just, like, "Please."

She's, like, "I'm gonna get you one."

So, you know,

I was, like, "Sure, whatever. Why not?"

The Thursday before the tournament

is generally the day

that we do all our sponsor events

and appearances.

I'm in the hotel suite.

She has to start getting ready.

She's in the bedroom.

There must have been

12 people in the room

from a variety of different partners.

I remember, I was, like,

"Jess, just be quiet

and I'll take this test."

I genuinely didn't think

anything would come of it.

I, like, in my soul

didn't think anything would happen.

And at some point she opens the door

and sticks her head out and says,

"Jill, can you come in here?"

And I'm, like, "Oh, God." [chuckles]

I walk in. She's in the bathroom.

And she looks at me and I look at her

and I'm, like, "You're pregnant."

And, I mean, my face is

I can't be white,

but my face somehow is white.

And my soul was just, like,

not even with me anymore.

I remember thinking to myself,

"Oh, my God. Holy smokes.

"We're starting a Grand Slam

in three days.

"Like, you're pregnant?"

It was a little scary

because it was also, like,

"Is this the end of Serena Williams?

Is this the end of my career?"

I remember taking a deep breath,

then I remember

putting my hands on her face and saying,

"It's gonna be okay.

"You're gonna go out

for the next two weeks

"and you're gonna compartmentalize this

and you're gonna win this tournament

"and then you're gonna drop the mic."

And I said, "And we have

about 12 or 15 people outside

"ready to start

the next six hours of our day

"with you doing all of your appearances,

events, and activities."

[Serena] We're taking pictures,

and outside I'm smiling, you know.

On the outside,

it's just, like, cheese, cheese.

And on the inside,

it's just, like, what?

This is the biggest news of your life.

You have to just cover it up.

So I call Alexis,

and he was supposed to come, like,

the night before the tournament.

She calls me and is, like, "Hey,

you need to get to Australia early."

And was, like, "Why?"

She's, like, "Just come.

Come to Australia early."

And I'm oblivious. Had no idea.

I was, like, "I guess she just needs me

to be there early. How sweet."

[tense music playing]

I get into the hotel room in Melbourne,

and she hands me a bag

of used pregnancy tests,

and she's, like,

"Look, you're gonna be a dad." [laughs]

[Serena] How do you feel?

-You even know how to feel?

-Relaxed?

[indistinct chatter]

Excited.

[Serena] I think everything was a blur.

I just remember going numb.

It was quite surreal.

I was still getting used to

being engaged,

and you find out, all right,

you're gonna be a dad. Cool.

I made a number of phone calls

because I was concerned.

She'd had one pulmonary embolism

and a number of blood clots.

We can't go to the Tour because

we couldn't risk a leak anywhere.

I ended up finding a doctor,

totally unaffiliated,

who opened up a hospital on a Sunday

so that she could go get an ultrasound

and confirm it.

We snuck in.

I remember erasing

the name on the computer

and putting in another name.

[nurse] Okay, so you're pregnant.

The doctor said that I was

seven weeks pregnant.

And I'm, like, "Seven weeks?"

Like, you know, that's crazy.

[nurse] So was this

a spontaneous pregnancy

or a planned pregnancy or is this

[Serena] This is spontaneous.

A surprise.

[nurse chuckles] Surprise!

And I remember Serena

asking me how I felt,

and just being dumbfounded?

Awestruck? I don't know.

Just, like, not any feeling

other than shock really.

I said, "Well, is it okay,

is it safe for me to play?"

And the doctor said, "Well,

you've been playing this whole time.

"You know, it's definitely safe."

The doctor's advice was,

"Hey, look, it's gonna be hot,

"so try to spend as little time

out on the court as possible."

[laughs] And so I think Serena

just decided, "All right.

"The best way to do that

to ensure my health

"and the baby's health

is to just, you know,

"take care of business in two sets

and get off the court."

[journalist] Serena,

the record, moving past Steffi,

it's been around in the background

obviously for a while.

These days,

does it mean anything to you?

What's your thoughts

on that opportunity?

Oh, I'm not talking about that.

I'm just here to play.

And to win, obviously, but just to play.

Who could possibly compete

in a Grand Slam when you're Serena,

with everything on the line,

when you find out that you are pregnant

and all of the things that go with it,

and nobody can know?

[journalist 2] A few weeks ago,

you posted some personal, exciting news.

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Well, can you elaborate?

[laughter]

[journalist 2] Well,

you said you were engaged?

-Uh-huh. Oh.

-[journalist 2] Yeah, that. Remember?

I'm just kidding.

There was so much talk

at that tournament.

There were so many storylines.

Me returning to number one.

Me breaking Steffi's record.

And meanwhile,

no one knew the best one of all.

[reporter] Serena Williams

and Belinda Bencic

on the court at Rod Laver Arena

getting ready

for their opening round match

in this 105th Australian Open.

96 degrees the air temperature.

Gotta be warmer than that

down on the court surface.

[Serena] My first concern

was the health of the baby.

It was a lot of stress,

and I always try

not to have a lot of stress,

but it's hard when you're pregnant.

It's even more hard

when you're playing pregnant

and you're playing in a Grand Slam.

I just remember

being incredibly nervous and scared,

because if something happens,

I'm gonna have to jump on the court

because no one's gonna know

what's going on.

[Serena] I couldn't tell anyone.

I was looking at my coach

and so many times,

I was gonna say, "I'm pregnant."

And I just couldn't

get those two words out.

[commentator] The eagerly-awaited

first round match.

[Alexis] It was incredibly stressful

knowing everything

that she wanted to accomplish

professionally in that tournament,

everything she wanted

to accomplish personally,

becoming a mother,

and how intertwined those things were.

[Serena] I had a really tough

first round match,

and I was thinking, "Well, gosh,

if I lose, I have a pretty good excuse."

-[linesman] Fault!

-[umpire] Game.

[commentator] I like the depth

of the return of the serve by Serena,

and then she lays an egg.

That's what I did.

I just had very short points.

I was playing way more aggressive,

which is probably how

I should've been playing all the time.

But I ended up winning the first round,

and I was, like, "Oh, okay."

[commentator] That's a really good win

for Serena Williams.

[Jill] After her second round,

it was incredibly hot out.

It was like 115 degrees

and not very safe, and they were

supposed to play doubles that afternoon.

[reporter] One of the tournament's

hottest days today.

Temperatures are gonna be

well up there in the 90s,

and there is thick humidity.

[Jill] I remember Serena

having to leave the site

because she had a terrible headache

and wasn't feeling well.

I was so concerned

about her physical well-being,

and there was no way

she could play the doubles.

But she didn't want to pull out herself

because then that was gonna

create a controversy

about what she was injured with.

So I stayed behind and waited for Venus

to get off the court

and waited

until she finished her interview

and got her into a back office.

And I said Serena was pregnant,

and she's gotta pull out of doubles.

She said to me, "I knew it!"

[reporter] Serena and Venus announced

that they'd be pulling out of doubles

because of a Venus elbow injury.

So Venus took that burden,

and it just took

all that pressure away from me

and it made it look like,

"Okay, so Serena wants to play

and she's in full health."

Because also you don't want

people in the locker room

to know that you're not healthy

because that is a problem, too.

Because then they know, "Oh, wait.

"Something's wrong with Serena?

Let's run her more. Let's do this more."

You try to protect yourself

as best as you can.

It's great to have

your sister as your ally.

I'm just managing it.

It was really disappointing

not to be able to play in New Zealand.

I was hoping that, you know,

I'd have the capacity

to play both events here,

but at this point I need to,

you know, be careful

and just try to maintain myself.

[cheering and applause]

[commentator] And Serena

booms down the ace.

She was so focused

on getting on and off that court

as quick as she could each match

and not to expend any extra energy

that she dialed in and was very focused.

The goal for me was just

to hit as many aces as I could.

And it sounds crazy, but that's my game.

[umpire] Game, Williams.

[commentator] Nasty serve

just kicking up and away

from the five-foot-six Gibbs.

That serve is working today.

I wanted to just go hard and strong.

Bang, bang.

[linesman] Out!

[commentator] And that miss

puts Serena though to the round of 16.

You can see the expression on her face.

Not exactly the punctuation

she was looking for,

but through in dominant fashion.

[Serena] Alexis in those two weeks

was very good and supportive.

In a way, he had to kind of

put his emotions aside

and his happiness and his feelings.

My job is to be here,

be supportive,

be there in whatever capacity

she needs me to be there for,

and that's it.

Let it rip.

[reporter] Welcome to Melbourne Park,

where no result is a given.

And clearly nothing

being taken for granted

by the game's greats

on this day ten of the Australian Open.

It's a gorgeous day, weather in the 70s.

And these are the matches still to come.

The next quarter final up,

Jo Konta of Great Britain

takes on Serena Williams,

who sits three wins away

from Grand Slam title 23.

[Serena] I was playing Johanna Konta,

and she was playing

really well at the time.

And we had a few long points,

and I remember, like,

I don't know

how I got all these ba*ls back.

I was so fast

and running down every ball.

And whenever she hit a serve,

I would crush it for a winner.

It's already really stressful

to watch someone you love

competing at that level.

And then you layer on all those factors,

and I don't think I will ever be

in another arena

feeling more stressed than I did then.

[umpire] Game, set and match.

[cheering and applause]

Well, Serena, first of all,

congratulations once again.

Into your 34th Grand Slam semi-final.

Quite extraordinary.

[cheering]

I'm on the quest for 23 and I'm pregnant

and I know that I'm gonna be out

for at least a year

if I even decide to come back.

But it was also a happy moment

'cause I've always wanted kids.

And I remember telling Alexis

after one match

that I know we're having a girl

because I don't know any man

that could handle this much pressure.

[interviewer] Ladies and gentlemen,

the world number two, Serena Williams.

[crowd cheers]

[grunts]

[commentator] Serena's

been dominant of course,

but Venus has had to overcome

illness and injury

to keep winning at this level.

No final since 2009 until

Now! There it is, match point.

She's back.

[crowd cheering]

[reporter] You can definitely

never underestimate Venus Williams.

She showed that she can

go the distance physically.

[Venus] No idea who I'll play.

I'd love it

if it was a Williams across the net.

[grunting]

[umpire] Game, Serena Williams.

[cheering]

[Serena] I just couldn't be happier

for the results,

and for us both to be in the final

is the biggest dream come true for us.

[reporter] This match

brings their rivalry full circle

as the first ever meeting

between the Williams sisters

came at the 1998 Australian Open

in the round of 64,

which Venus won.

[reporter 2] It's a continuation

of arguably the best sports story

I've experienced in my lifetime.

[journalist] Venus, what will it mean

for you to win on Saturday?

Um, be beautiful.

Be beautiful. I have to earn it.

[reporter] We welcome you

to Melbourne Park.

It's a beautiful night,

fitting this amazing occasion.

For a 28th time overall,

Serena Williams

and her older sister Venus

will play in a Grand Slam event.

[reporter 2] And they happen

to be 36 and 35 years old,

in a sport that it used to be where

30 years old was way over the hill.

[Jill] It was gonna be

their 15th Grand Slam match,

and with everything that was going on

and everything on the line

and all the nuances

that the world didn't know about

but that our small

very small group knew about,

it was the most,

to me, the most stressful one.

[reporter] I think

this is potentially, Chris,

the greatest weekend

in the history of tennis.

What's at stake for the women,

especially Serena.

I think this could be

the most viewed tennis match ever.

I just feel like it's been a while,

and it definitely is,

I mean, this probably is the moment

of our careers so far.

You have to control yourself,

and then you also have to

hopefully put your opponent in a box.

And then this opponent is your sister,

and she's super awesome.

So it's wonderful.

I had not seen

how stressful it is on her

to compete against Venus in a final.

You literally don't talk about it.

No one talks about it.

You almost don't even say the V word.

[Serena] We've played each other

so much in finals

to a point at one point

people were saying it was boring.

And then we were playing each other

full circle in another final,

two decades since the first one.

[reporter] 23 and 22 years later,

they're still at the top of the game.

It's absolutely amazing.

It was such a big moment,

and no one knows that I'm pregnant,

except for Venus,

and I felt really bad about that.

Because I don't want her,

to even in the slightest,

take it easier on me.

And so I felt like is this even fair?

[commentator]

It's a special feeling in the air.

The crowd roared when both Venus

and Serena came out here.

They know they're about to watch

something very special unfold.

History is on the line for both players.

[Serena] I don't look at her.

I just go to the other side

and I look away.

[commentator] Serena tries to ignore

who's at the other end of the net.

We'll see her look down a lot

and not look across very much.

That's her way of coping with this.

[umpire] The two players are ready.

Ready, play.

[grunting]

[cheering and applause]

[commentator] Venus has to be

in Serena's face

right from the first shot.

[Jill] I remember it not being

a great start to the match.

I don't think people understand

the degree of difficulty

of competing against the person

you love the most,

your family, your sister,

your best friend.

[linesman] Out!

[commentator] The crowd

seems to be behind Venus

during this competitive final,

and she breaks back.

[Alexis] There's no joy

in a match against Venus at all.

And so everyone,

even during that whole match,

was sort of stilted, reserved,

because again,

no one's feeling good about this.

[grunting]

Fight! Fight!

You know, in those matches,

you just sit and you watch

and you appreciate the greatness.

But it's not enjoyable.

[crowd gasping]

[commentator] Serena smacks

her racket on the court,

and whacks it in frustration

at the net court winner

[Jill] I love

when she explodes on the court.

I always say, like,

the racket smashes and things like that,

I know they don't look great,

but when she smashes a racket,

she's gonna be fine

because she's getting out something.

[commentator] Serena's relaxing now,

getting a hit out,

and breaks again for 4-3.

And I think again we're in a tie break

and I knew that I more than likely

wouldn't survive much longer than that.

[commentator] Serena

smashed that racket,

settled herself down.

I remember feeling like

I thought the match was gonna turn.

And if you understand what moves Serena,

she has to have anger, chaos,

to play her best.

She can't drum that up

against someone she loves so much.

Only she could have pulled that off.

[crowd cheers]

[Serena] I think the thing

that drove me the most

was I never played so free.

There's very few times

since I won the U.S. Open in 1999

that I played so free.

I didn't have anything to lose.

I didn't have any worries.

I didn't have any pressure.

[commentator] Championship point.

[Serena] Everything is a bonus

because you can't fault someone

that's two months pregnant, you know.

It's just like, "Okay, well,

how did you even win a match,

"let alone a tournament?"

[crowd cheers]

[commentator]

There's no stopping Serena.

23rd major title.

[Serena] I had won 23,

and it was like a dream story.

Can you imagine?

Like, you want that

to be the end of your career

is winning a Grand slam.

[Alexis] She breaks Steffi's record.

She's officially GOATed.

That was it. That was the punctuation.

She did it pregnant for crying out loud.

[crowd cheers]

[Jill] I just was so proud

because I can't imagine having to endure

what she endured

emotionally and physically

during those couple of weeks.

[Alexis] The start of a chapter

that is so meaningful to both of us.

And little Olympia

won her first Grand Slam

still in her momma's belly.

[commentator] Serena, of course,

will continue to be the favorite

wherever she goes.

It's just further confirmation

that she's the greatest player

who's ever lived.

She refused to not be excellent

in the face of so much.

And it's something

that generations from now

people will look back on and admire.

[cameras clicking]

[woman] Yeah.

This is my baby.

[theme music playing]