Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian welcomed their first daughter, Olympia, in 2017

Serena Williams says being a mom is her “greatest accomplishment.”

The tennis star and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, became parents for the first time when they welcomed their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., into the world on Sept. 1, 2017. While giving birth, Williams had a near-death experience — her heart rate plummeted during labor so she had to have an emergency cesarean section.

In a 2018 interview with TIME, Williams called motherhood “tough,” adding, “Some days, I cry. I’m really sad. I’ve had meltdowns. Sometimes she just wants Mommy, she doesn’t want anyone else. I still have to learn a balance of being there for her and being there for me.”

Williams stepped away from tennis in September 2022 and Olympia has made her mom “very aware” that she’s happy with that decision.

“[Olympia] wants to make sure that I’m aware that I should have time on my hands and I need to spend more time with her,” Williams said on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast. “Little kids really want to be with their parents. And I just feel fortunate that she wants to be with me.”

In August 2023, Olympia became a big sister when Williams and Ohanian welcomed their second daughter, Adira River Ohanian.

Here’s everything there is to know about Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian’s daughter, Alexis Olympia.

Her name has a special meaning

Alexis Olympia Ohanian Instagram

Olympia’s full name is Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., but her parents call her Olympia for short. In 2017, shortly after giving birth, Williams revealed that there was a special meaning behind Olympia’s name. “Fun fact my daughters initials are AO as in the Aussie Open she won with me,” Williams tweeted.

Williams won the Australian Open not long after finding out she was pregnant. During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ohanian said that after the Australian Open, both he and Williams believed they were having a girl. “[Serena] remarked that she feels like it has to be a girl because everything that that 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 went through and handled like a champ, only a woman could be strong enough to take on,” he said. “I was very lucky to be raised by a strong amazing mother, and I mean, she’s got a good point.”

She spends a lot of time with her mom

Serena Williams Instagram

The tennis champion might have an extremely busy schedule, but she makes sure to spend as much time as possible with her daughter. When Olympia was about a year old, Williams told PEOPLE that she made sure to see her daughter every single day.

“I have spent every day with Olympia since she was born, and one of the latest challenges has been her teething,” Williams said, adding that it had been tough to find the right balance between being a mom, a tennis superstar and an entrepreneur.

Months later, Williams repeated the same sentiments to PEOPLE, saying, “I’m a super hands-on mom. I am with her every day since she was born. We haven’t spent a day apart.”

Even when Williams was working from home during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Olympia was by her side through it all. “I love to spend so much time with her … She’s in every single call that I have, every single meeting,” Williams told PEOPLE. “I feel like she’s getting a little bit of it so she’s going to be a really good businesswoman when this is all over.”

Olympia also hangs out with some of her mom’s famous friends. In August 2022, Williams shared a black-and-white photo on Instagram of herself and Olympia posing with Meghan Markle while teasing her interview on Markle’s podcast.

She loves to twin with Williams

Serena Williams Instagram

One of the sweetest things about Williams and Olympia’s relationship is how much they love to match. The two have repeatedly shown up in matching outfits in Instagram photos, on the red carpet and even on the court.

In January 2022, Williams posted a photo of herself and Olympia sitting back-to-back on the tennis court, wearing matching black and pink colorblocked Nike workout gear — the same look Williams wore to the Australian Open in 2021. “Next?” Williams captioned the photo.

In an Instagram video, Williams and Olympia danced together wearing matching blue floral dresses and later green ones. Williams captioned the post, “My forever bestie @olympiaohanian.”

At the premiere of King Richard, the biopic starring Will Smith as Williams’ father and coach Richard Williams, Serena and Olympia wore matching outfits to walk the red carpet with Ohanian. Williams wore a David Koma bodysuit with a heeled black, over-the-knee bejeweled boot, and Olympia wore crystal-covered tights and sparkly Mary Jane shoes.

Elsa/Getty; KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty

At the 2022 U.S. Open, Olympia supported Serena from the stands while wearing a miniature version of her mom’s athletic wear. The fashionista wore a black Nike dress, bedazzled with mini rhinestones on top. Olympia also wore white beads in her braids, reminiscent of the ones Williams had when she won her first U.S. Open in 1999.

Her favorite doll is Qai Qai

Qai Qai Instagram

Williams welcomed doll Qai Qai to the family in 2018, affectionately referring to her as Olympia’s “daughter.” Qai Qai even has an Instagram account.

Ohanian has spoken about the importance of Qai Qai in terms of representation. “[It] was really important to us … to make sure that Olympia had a Black 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 doll,” Ohanian told PEOPLE in 2021. “[To] have that be a very important first doll for her, if for no other reason than to just expose her to something that can hopefully break a cycle that we know exists.”

In December 2021, Williams announced that she had written her first children’s book, The Adventures of Qai Qai. She also teamed up with Invisible Universe to bring the doll to life in a YouTube series in which Taikirha Miller would voice the character. “Everyone needs to find their voice, and I’m happy Qai Qai found hers in Taikirha,” Williams said. “Now that she’s found her voice, the possibilities for the franchise are endless.”

In September 2022, the tennis star appeared on Good Morning America to talk about her book, The Adventures of Qai Qai, and revealed that Olympia thinks the book is about her, not her doll. “Olympia thinks it’s her in the book. She thinks the mom is me and she thinks the dad is my husband,” Williams said. “It’s quite funny because I’m like it’s not us … I don’t want it to go to her head.”

Nearly a year later, Williams confirmed that she and Invisible Universe are launching a kids’ show inspired by Qai Qai.

“It has been amazing to see how Qai Qai has captured the hearts of so many young fans so we’re thrilled to introduce them to Dance with Qai Qai!” Williams told PEOPLE in August 2023. “What better way to keep your kids active than by learning dance moves from Qai Qai herself?”

She’s a budding ballerina and soccer star

Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian and daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian. Alexis Ohanian Instagram

Olympia already has some hobbies of her own, including ballet! In May 2022, Ohanian shared a photo of Williams and himself holding Olympia after her dance recital. In the photo, Olympia wore a pink tutu, hair bow and ballet slippers. Her proud parents brought bouquets of flowers.

“First ballet recital for @olympiaohanian in the books 🙌 proud of you Junior!” Ohanian wrote.

Months earlier, Williams had shared an Instagram video of herself and Olympia wearing matching ballerina outfits. In the video, Olympia danced in front of the camera in a pink skirt and white top, while Williams wore a matching outfit in the background.

“I don’t need to be in the camera,” Williams said in the video. “You got too much pizazz, girl.”

Olympia has also taken an interest in soccer. In December 2022, photos of the little athlete in an Angel City Football Club jersey and yellow cleats were posted on Instagram.

Ohanian and Olympia have really bonded over the sport. The entrepreneur shared that he often “spends hours kicking around a football” with his daughter — one of the many reasons he became a lead investor in Angel City FC in 2020.

She doesn’t share her mom’s love of tennis

MICHAEL BRADLEY/AFP

In January 2022, Olympia’s Instagram account shared a video of the little one practicing her backhand on the court. “Practice makes progress,” said the caption.

And it seems like Olympia has gotten plenty of practice: During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Williams said she hired a private instructor to teach her daughter how to play tennis.

However, it doesn’t seem like Olympia inherited her mom’s passion for the sport.

While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live in September 2021, Williams revealed her daughter has other interests. “She likes tennis, but I don’t know. Honestly, she likes playing piano,” she said. “When she was in my belly, I played a lot of piano music.”

In August 2022, Williams mentioned again that her daughter isn’t excited by the sport. “She’s my little buddy,” the tennis star said on the “A Conversation with Champions” panel ahead of the U.S. Open. “We do everything together. We go on dates and it’s so cool because she likes everything I do except for tennis.”

Williams spoke about her daughter’s lack of interest in tennis again during a Feb. 27, 2023, appearance on CBS News’ Person to Person with Norah O’Donnell. “That’s a little disappointing for me, but she’s actually really good at it,” the athlete said. “So we are trying to figure out a way to get her to play a little bit.”

“Maybe I can push her into tennis by getting other kids to have a group lesson, I think that’s what I’m gonna do,” she later added.

She plays the piano

Alexis Olympia Ohanian Instagram

Music is another one of Olympia’s many hobbies.

In September 2021, Williams shared a video of Olympia giving her mother a piano lesson. In the video, the Grand Slam champ sat next to her daughter at the piano while Olympia taught her what to do. “I teach her tennis … she teaches me piano,” Williams wrote.

The tennis star also talked about her daughter’s musical abilities during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, who asked how seriously Olympia takes tennis.

She also noted that Olympia was taking piano lessons. “And she’s teaching me! Like, I’m not even kidding. I have a 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 Mozart,” Williams added. “Of course every parent thinks they have, like, a 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 Beethoven or whatever.”

She might be a future fashionista

Serena Williams/Instagram

Olympia loves to dress up and play around with clothes. At the 2021 Met Gala, her aunt Venus Williams joked to Access Hollywood, “She wears dresses all day every day, and insists on heels, so she’ll be here next year. Next year she’ll probably be chair.”

The tiny style star even accompanied her mom to Paris Fashion Week, where she matched with Williams in hot pink Balmain dresses.

On Feb. 1, 2023, Williams shared photos of Olympia trying on her mom’s pink-feathered cape, which the tennis star wore to the 2021 Met Gala. In the caption, Serena wrote: “Like mama like daughter. @olympiaohanian Met Gala next?”

She likes gaming

BRENTON EDWARDS/AFP

Olympia shares at least one hobby with her dad: gaming. In 2022, Williams revealed to PEOPLE that Olympia had been gaming recently. “Her dad’s got her into VR [virtual reality]. Not sure how I feel about that,” she said. “It’s the founder of Reddit, so that kind of makes sense.”

She added that she tries to limit Olympia’s screen time. “I’m just like, ‘No, let’s do schooling and let’s do this,’ ” she said. “Although I think gaming is super important because I played a lot of games growing up. But it’s all balance. It’s really all about balance. As long as you have that balance, I think it’s okay.”

She appeared on the cover of Vogue with her mom

Luis Alberto Rodriguez

At nearly 5 years old, Olympia landed her first Vogue cover alongside her mom. The mother-daughter duo posed on the beach, with Olympia, who was wearing a white dress, hugging the long train of Williams’ blue Balenciaga gown.

The tennis legend also wrote a first-person essay for the publication and discussed motherhood and her plans to retire from the sport. “In five years, Olympia has only spent one 24-hour period away from me,” wrote Williams. “This past year, while I was recovering from a hamstring injury, I got to pick her up from school four or five days a week, and I always looked forward to seeing her face light up when she walked out of the building and saw me waiting there for her. The fact is that nothing is a sacrifice for me when it comes to Olympia.”

She also revealed she and Ohanian are “trying to have another child” — and Olympia can’t wait to be a big sister. “We’re in my car, and she’s holding my phone, using an interactive educational app she likes. This robot voice asks her a question: What do you want to be when you grow up? She doesn’t know I’m listening, but I can hear the answer she whispers into the phone. She says, ‘I want to be a big sister.’ ”

She’s part owner of two sports teams

In July 2020, Olympia became the youngest co-owner in professional sports when her parents secured her stake in the Angel City Football Club.

“Right now, all Olympia knows is that Angel City FC is our team, and she loves cheering for them,” Ohanian told PEOPLE at the team’s opener in March 2023. “I think as she gets older, maybe she’ll come to see the different layers to it.”

Three years later, Ohanian announced on Instagram that Olympia had added the Los Angeles Golf Club to her owner portfolio. L.A. Golf Club is part of the TGL, a high-tech golf league founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

She’s a big sister

serena/TikTok

Williams and Ohanian welcomed 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 No. 2, a daughter named Adira River, in August 2023, making Olympia a big sister.

“I’m grateful to report our house is teaming with love: a happy & healthy newborn girl and happy & healthy mama. Feeling grateful. @serenawilliams you’ve now given me another incomparable gift — you’re the GMOAT,” Ohanian wrote on Instagram, announcing Adira’s birth.

The couple previously revealed their pregnancy news in May 2023, with Ohanian writing on Instagram, “Mama (@serenawilliams) & Papa love this parenting-thing, so we’re back at it 😁 and @olympiaohanian is gonna be the best Big Sister—she’s been asking & praying for this for a minute.”

In June 2023, Williams gave fans another glimpse at her 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 bump in an Instagram post. In her photo, the tennis star cradled her belly as future big sister Olympia posed in pink next to her mom.

“Olympia’s fired up,” Ohanian told PEOPLE. “No one’s more excited than her. She’s been wanting this. She’s been praying and asking about this for quite some time, so she’s very ready.”

The following month, Ohanian and Williams hosted a 𝓈ℯ𝓍 reveal party. Olympia was ecstatic to learn that she’d soon have a little sister.

She loves daddy-daughter time

One of Olympia’s favorite things to do with Ohanian is draw.

“I put some plastic down so we don’t ruin the table with our Sharpies, and then we’ll do daddy-daughter drawing classes,” he shared with PEOPLE. “I’ll fire up YouTube and we’ll go through a tutorial video together. She’ll get to pick whatever she wants to draw.”

Olympia also enjoys hitting the links with her dad. During an episode of Ohanian’s podcast, Business Dad, he talked about their daddy-daughter golf lessons, which take place every Sunday.

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