Serena Williams’s Husband Says Young Daughter Won’t Play Sports Until She’s Paid Fairly

Serena Williams’s daughter, Olympia, could be the world’s next athlete superstar when she’s old enough, but only under one condition.

The tennis legend is open to her seven-year-old daughter going down any career path she’s interested in, and if it happens to be sports, she wants to make sure her daughter is paid “what she’s worth,” her husband Alexis Ohanian shared this week.

“We were watching the final of the World Cup in 2019 from our rented house in Wimbledon,” Ohanian said while speaking at ADWEEK’s Brandweek conference. “Olympia was running around in her Alex Morgan jersey, and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if she played on a national team one day?’ And Serena was like, ‘Not until they pay her what she’s worth.’ And I was like, ‘Touché, okay, challenge accepted.’ And that’s what motivated me to buy a team and help be a part of the change.”

That’s quite the powerful statement.

The team Ohanian is referencing is the Angel City Football Club that he co-founded in 2020. Williams and Olympia are also co-owners, which made the seven-year-old the youngest co-owner in professional sports history.

Williams and Ohanian married in 2017. They share two daughters, Olympia and one-year-old Adira.