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Serena Williams opens up about freezing her eggs in her 20s
15th May, 2026 08:11 AM
Tennis legend Serena Williams has opened up about her decision to freeze her eggs in her late 20s, revealing how the choice helped ease the pressure of balancing motherhood and her professional career.
Speaking candidly about the experience,during a live recording of IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, on Thursday, May 14,2026,Serena explained that at the time, starting a family was not her immediate priority as she remained focused on competing at the highest level in professional tennis.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion said the decision came after advice from someone close to her, prompting her to think ahead about her future as a woman and an athlete.
“I was not trying to have a kid at the time,”Williams explained.
“You know what is so interesting about boilogical clock? I tell my friends of age ,freeze your eggs because I just feel like that is the best thing that you can do as a woman as you decide to go on this journey.”
According to the tennis icon, freezing her eggs brought her peace of mind and allowed her to continue pursuing her sporting career without feeling rushed into motherhood.
“I did that, I froze my eggs because I was still playing proffesional tenmnis and I felt like I was not ready to stop and I wanted to keep going and it was not just time and then all over sudden all this pressure came off my shoulder all these weight fell off my shoulder once I did that,”she added.
Serena revealed she was around 27 or 28 years old at the time and believes it was the right moment to make the decision.
“I was in my 20s, I was like 27,28, so it was a really good time to do it and also someone told me to do it,”Williams disclosed.
“Then I told everyone to do it.”
Williams on extreme parenting
The 44-year-old tennis legend also revealed that she makes an extra effort to be present with her children.
She explains that she avoids leaving her children for longer than a day.
“I really try to be a present parent,” Williams said. “Sometimes that’s hard, especially with the lives that we live. It’s very hard to be present, but I try to be extremely present.”
“I’m never gone more than 24 hours, ever. I didn’t leave Olympia until she was 6 for 24 hours. That may have been a little extreme, but that’s who I am.”
Williams has two children with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, 43.
Their eldest daughter, Olympia, is eight years old, while Adira is two.
Tennis legend Williams has explained that she wants to be the primary influence on her young children.
“They mean the most to me, and I feel they need me,” Williams added.
“I wanna raise my children. I’m a person that’s raising my kids, and that’s teaching them how I want them to live and how I want them to be.”
