Maybe they weren’t tennis fans.
A worker at a Paris restaurant claims that Serena Williams was “unrecognizable” when she arrived for dinner and was allegedly denied a rooftop table.
Peninsula Paris staffer Maxime Mannevy was not working the night of the confusion, but told Variety she was in touch with a colleague who was directly involved.
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Serena Williams Alexis Ohanian and their daughter Alexis at the Opening Ceremony on July 26, 2024.WireImage
“When she came there were only two tables available and they had been reserved by clients of the hotel,” Mannevy told the outlet.
“My colleague didn’t recognize her and feels terrible, but he told her what he would have told any other client, which is to wait downstairs in the bar for a table to become available. That was absolutely nothing personal.”
Williams, a 23-time grand slam champion, is in France for the Olympics after being a part of the Opening Ceremony two weeks ago.
“Yikes @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in a empty restaurant of nicer places … but never with my kids,” Williams wrote on X on Monday and has not commented on the subject since. “Always a first.”
The restaurant gave an official response as well.
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Serena Williams at an equestrian event at the Olympics.REUTERS
“In response to Ms Williams’ tweet, for whom we have the utmost admiration and respect, as we do for all our esteemed guests, we reiterate our deepest apologies that we were not able to offer her a table at our rooftop bar when she arrived with her family and without a reservation,” The Peninsula said in a statement to The Post.
“We do always try to make space for walk-in guests but sometimes this is not possible.”
Williams, 42, is married to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and has two daughters — Alexis Olympia, 6, and Adira River, who was born in August 2023.
Williams won three of her grand slams at the French Open at nearby Roland Garros and is one of the most recognizable athletes in the world.

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Serena Williams was ‘unrecognizable’ during Paris restaurant mix-up