Why Serena Williams Will Not Be Celebrating Her Daughter, Alexis Olympia’s 1st Birthday

Serena Jameka Williams‘ daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian will be turning 1 this week but her mom will not be celebrating her birthday.

The 1st time mom confirmed that she will not be celebrating her baby girl’s first birthday due to her belief as a Jehovah’s Witness.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe God is the Creator and Supreme Being, and reject the Trinity doctrine. They do not celebrate religious holidays like Christmas and Easter, and do not observe birthdays or national holidays, feeling that many of these customs have pagan origins and do not celebrate God.

The tennis legend made this known while speaking at a press conference at the US Open. When a reporter asked her whether she had thought about celebrating Olympia’s 1st birthday, the 36-year-old mom responded:

”Olympia doesn’t celebrate birthdays. We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, so we don’t do that.”

And in an interview with Vogue magazine in 2017; the 23-time Grand Slam winner hinted that her husband, Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian is now practicing her faith despite not having a religious upbringing.

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”Being a Jehovah’s Witness is important to me, but I’ve never really practiced it and have been wanting to get into it. Alexis didn’t grow up going to any church, but he’s really receptive and even takes the lead. He puts my needs first.”

Serena prefers to call her daughter Olympia, and she told Vogue “we’re not spending a day apart until she’s eighteen”.

Her husband is based in San Francisco and Serena admitted she found the idea of moving there and being a full time mom attractive.

However, she stated: “But not yet. I absolutely want more Grand Slams.” 

Serena has reached the final of Wimbledon in her 1st appearance at SW19 since becoming a mom. She’s currently competing in the US Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York.

Alexis Olympia was born on September 1, 2017; via an emergency C-section and complications in the surgery nearly killed the new mom.

ALSO READ: Serena Williams Reveal Her Struggles With Postpartum Emotions To Encourage Other Mums

Narrating the ordeal to CNN, Serena said:

”It began with a pulmonary embolism, which is a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs becomes blocked by a blood clot. Because of my medical history with this problem, I live in fear of this situation. So, when I fell short of breath, I didn’t wait for a second to alert the nurses.

This sparked a slew of health complications that I am lucky to have survived. First my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism.

I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs. When I finally made it home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of motherhood in bed.”

Picture credit: Instagram/Serena Williams