When Serena Williams Gave A Tour Of Her House, One Room Revealed A Lot About Her Mentality

Serena’s status as the G.O.A.T. is undisputed. With 23 Grand Slam single titles under her belt, she is the most decorated tennis player – male or female – of the modern open era. What’s more, with her powerful presence on court, she’s often credited with revolutionizing the women’s game.

It seems that Serena was destined to become an athlete from an early age. Both she and her older sister, Venus, undertook tennis training from the tender age of three, under the guidance of their dad, Richard. He was determined for his daughters to succeed, and with their unparalleled abilities, they soon became stars of the court.

Over the course of their careers, the Williams sisters have often been rivals and competitors. They’ve faced each other professionally 31 times, with Serena coming out on top winning 19 times to Venus’ 12. Both siblings have held the World Number 1 ranking, Venus for 11 weeks altogether, and Serena for an impressive 316 weeks.

But Serena and Venus are rivals on the court only. Outside of their sport, the two sisters are extremely close, even living together for many years. Not only that, but they have teamed up professionally too, winning 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together as well as three Olympic gold medals.

All things considered then, Serena and Venus are consummate professionals. And Serena has been open about her desire to be the best. She once said, “I’m a perfectionist. I’m pretty much insatiable. I feel there’s so many things I can improve on.”

It’s often said that Serena has the mindset of a champion. And it would seem that her pursuit of perfection continues into her private life too. Her celebrity status extends off of the court, sparking media interest in her A-list circle of friends, and her marriage to Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian.

Serena met Alexis at Rome’s Hotel Cavalieri Hilton. But despite the romantic setting, it was not love at first sight. The athlete and her friends were seated at a table by the pool for breakfast, when a hungover Alexis sat down next to them – in seats reserved for more of Serena’s entourage.

Alexis’s choice of breakfast spot annoyed Serena, given that there were plenty of places for him to have sat at. So her friends did what anyone in that situation might do – or perhaps not – they pretended they saw a rat by the Reddit founder’s table in the hope that he’d clear off. Alexis, though, was undeterred, so Serena asked him to join them instead.

Alexis accepted the invitation, but not because he was a tennis fan. In fact, in 2017 he told Vanity Fair magazine that while he was “98 percent sure” that he was in Serena’s company, he added that he’d “never watched a [tennis] match on television or in real life.” He continued, “It was literally the sport – even if ESPN was announcing tennis updates, I would just zone out… I really had no respect for tennis.”

For her part, Serena had no idea about Reddit either, although she tried to pretend she did. Nevertheless, the pair swapped numbers, in case the tennis star ever needed help with her website. Alexis also came to watch Serena play in the Italian Open later that day, and, while she won, she felt that she hadn’t been at her best.

Disappointed that Alexis had not seen her in peak performance in Rome, Serena later invited him to see her play in the French Open. So he flew out to Paris for the weekend, and the pair explored the city together, walking for hours and taking in all the sights. It was the start of what was to be a beautiful romance.

The Paris trip turned out to be Serena and Alexis’s first official date. That was in June 2015, and in December the following year the couple were engaged at the same spot they’d first met in Rome. But before they could tie the knot, Serena discovered she was unexpectedly pregnant, just as she was about to play in the Australian Open in January 2017.

The couple kept their baby news secret at first, and Serena went on to take the Australian Open title while eight weeks pregnant. They would welcome their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., on September 1, 2017. The couple then tied the knot just over two months later, at a star-studded ceremony in New Orleans.

The jetsetting family now split their time between multiple homes including pads in Beverly Hills, Paris and Miami. Serena’s family had lived in Florida since 1991, and she herself had shared a home with her sister Venus in Palm Beach Gardens for over a decade. But Serena ultimately purchased her own waterfront mansion nearby, which would ultimately become another base for her brood.

The breathtaking property clearly holds a special place in Serena’s heart, being close to both her parents and her famous sister. In fact, Venus helped shape the interior of the home through her design company, V Starr. Complimenting her sibling’s eye, in February 2021 Serena told Architectural Digest magazine, “You have to know your lane. I’m really good at playing tennis; I’m not as good at interiors. But I was able to learn through just watching Venus.”

Back when Serena purchased the home, she had no idea who she would be sharing it with. She and Alexis had only just met, so she took charge of its design on her own. After three years of renovations, it was ready for the athlete, her husband and their daughter to finally move into. But theirs was not your average family home.

In February 2021 Serena showed off her breathtaking abode in an episode of Architectural Digest’s YouTube series, Open Door. Inviting us into her mansion in the video, we step into an unconventional foyer, which in turn leads straight onto an art gallery, rather than a traditional living area.

Explaining her reasoning behind the bold use of space, Serena says, “I love art, and I love all kinds of artists, and I find it really cool. So I was like, ‘What if I had a formal living room, but instead of it being a living room, it’s called an art gallery?’ So this is our gallery.” And among the work on display, there is one of the tennis star’s own.

As Serena shows us around various art works, she leads us to what she jokes is her “favorite piece” in the gallery. Landing in front of a mixed-media splatter painting, the athlete reveals, “This is actually my art. I do art. I paint, and I’m really kind of artsy. So this is a really cool piece.” Pointing to a sewed-up slit within the image, she adds, “It’s a needle actually in it, so it’s kind of like a 3D piece, which is really cool.”

After revealing her artistic side, Serena then takes us through to her trophy room, which reveals a lot about her champion’s attitude. Here, the gallery-theme continues, with her many accolades displayed neatly against white walls on simple black shelving. As she enters the new space, the sporting superstar points out, “Here are some of my trophies.”

However, given the minimalist nature of the display, it soon becomes clear that not all of Serena’s prizes have been packed into the room. She explains, “I don’t keep a lot of my Grand Slam trophies here.” Searching the room, the athlete points out a gong from the Australian Open and the U.S. open trophy she won in 2002. Commenting on this, she muses, “That was a while ago.”

As Serena continues to scan the room for Grand Slam trophies, she admits, “I am so bad with trophies.” Picking one up, the star wonders out loud, “Is this one? Let’s see.” Confirming that it is indeed an important accolade, she reveals, “This is Roland Garros – the French Open.” She then jokes, “Clearly, I don’t have a lot of those, so I can’t tell you…” But in true Serena style, her "not many" is a pretty respectable three.

Next Serena points out an Australian Open prize, before saying, “Now all you need me to show you is a Wimbledon, but I don’t think I have Wimbledon.” But in almost the same breath, something catches her eye. Picking up a gold and silver plate, the sports star reveals, “This is our Wimbledon trophy… lots of cool details and names. My sister’s name is in here like six or seven times, which is crazy.”

Picking up a smaller dish, Serena realizes, “Oh here’s another Wimbledon trophy. I’m so bad with this.” Explaining the size discrepancy between the two prizes, she adds, “So this is what it was like when you first won Wimbledon, you got a small trophy. And then, it had been like four or five years since I won Wimbledon, and I understand they moved it to the bigger one.”

Serena then tries to date the trophies, but soon gives up. She estimates, “This is like the early 2000s, and this is like, I don’t know, 2010/12” before admitting, “I don’t know when I won.” So it would seem that the tennis ace pays little attention to what each of her first place gongs look like or when she achieved them. But she has even less reverence for her runner’s-up prizes.

Later in the clip, Serena points to another silver plate and jokes, “I see a second-place trophy, but I’m going to put that one in the trash. It shouldn’t be in here.” Putting on a steely demeanor, she turns to the camera and without even a hint of a smile, she explains, “We don’t keep second place.”

Serena’s dislike of not winning isn’t exactly a new development. In 2018 the tennis player courted controversy when she lost the U.S. Open final to Naomi Osaka, while competing for her 24th Grand Slam title. The loss came after a run-in with the umpire of the game, which the tennis star later wrote about in Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

In a self-penned piece published in 2019, Serena explained, “It’s the beginning of the second set, and the umpire thinks he spots my coach signaling me from the stands. He issues a violation – a warning. I approach him and emphatically state the truth — that I wasn’t looking at my coach. ‘I don’t cheat to win. I’d rather lose,’ I said.”

Serena continued, “I walk back to the court and lose the next point. I smash my racket in frustration; he issues another violation and gives a point to my opponent. I feel passionately compelled to stand up for myself. I call him a thief; I again demand an apology. I tell him he is penalizing me for being a woman. He responds by issuing a third violation and takes a game from me.”

Naomi went on to take the match, winning her first Grand Slam title in the process. But after her clash with the umpire, Serena struggled to put the loss behind her. She couldn’t even bring herself to play tennis and ultimately sought the advice of a therapist to help her get past the incident.

In the end, Serena determined that it wasn’t just the loss of the game that was troubling her. It was also that she felt as though her behavior on court had overshadowed Naomi’s win. As she wrote in her Harper’s Bazaar piece, “Not only was a game taken from me, but a defining, triumphant moment was taken from another player, something she should remember as one of the happiest memories in her long and successful career.”

With that in mind, Serena reached out to her competitor to offer her an apology. She revealed how she wrote, “I would never, ever want the light to shine away from another female, specifically another black female athlete. I can’t wait for your future, and believe me I will always be watching as a big fan!”

Naomi accepted the apology graciously. Serena revealed how her fellow tennis star had replied, “People can misunderstand anger for strength because they can’t differentiate between the two. No one has stood up for themselves the way you have and you need to continue trailblazing.” Serena admitted that the response brought a tear to her eye.

So it would be fair to say that losing is not something that comes naturally to champions like Serena. And in February 2021 she made headlines once more after again conceding to Naomi, this time at the Australian Open. The competition, held in Melbourne, had been the location of her last Grand Slam win, when she was pregnant with her daughter.

After her defeat, Serena took a second to wave to the crowds gathered around the court, before placing one hand on her heart. In return, they gave the legendary sportswoman a standing ovation. At the time, a commentator remarked, “That might be the last time we see her here.”

Serena was subsequently asked about the prospect of retirement from the tournament in the post-match press conference. The athlete replied, “I don’t know. If I ever say farewell, I wouldn’t tell anyone.” However, the reporter continued to push her, and that’s when she became visibly upset.

When asked if her defeat was just a “bad day at the office,” Serena choked back her tears as she replied, "I don’t know.” Then she announced, “I’m done” and walked out of the conference. It’s unknown why the loss had gotten to the star so much, but it had clearly taken a toll.

Later, Serena took to Instagram to tell fans how she was feeling. She wrote, “Today was not an ideal outcome or performance, but it happens… I am so honored to be able to play in front of you all. Your support, your cheers, I only wish I could have done better for you today. I am forever in debt and grateful to each and everyone single one of you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I adore you.”

After her performance at the Australian Open, speculation that Serena would soon retire completely was rife. With that in mind, it’s unclear if she’ll get to add another winning Grand Slam trophy to her collection. But even so, her extraordinary record in her sport will take some beating…