A baby just in time for Labor Day weekend.
Serena Williams and fiancé Alexis Ohanian welcomed a baby girl at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday, according to multiple reports.
WPBF-25 news producer Chris Shepherd was first to report that Williams gave birth to her daughter, weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces, writing that mom and baby are “doing well.”
Beyoncé later confirmed the news, congratulating her friend on the newest addition to the family.
Williams reportedly checked in two days prior, clearing out an entire floor of the hospital for security purposes before going into delivery. This is the first child for both the tennis champion and the Reddit co-founder.
Williams first announced she was 20 weeks pregnant in April with a Snapchat photo of herself in a swimsuit. She later revealed, however, that the photo was shared by accident due to pressing the wrong button. Given the timeline, her followers quickly deduced that Williams was expecting when she won the Australian Open in January like a total legend.
Before giving birth, the 35-year-old said she had a “strong suspicion” that she was having a girl, while Ohanian thought a baby boy was on the way.
“Two weeks after we found out, I played the Australian Open,” Williams explained to Vogue. “I told Alexis it has to be a girl because there I was playing in 100-degree weather, and that baby never gave me any trouble. Ride or die. Women are tough that way.”
Williams and Ohanian have been linked together as early as 2015, but kept their relationship private. The two first met by chance in Rome at a hotel buffet and Williams gave him her number. After a magical rendezvous in Paris weeks later, they began a relationship.
Ohanian recalled thinking Williams was an “interesting, charming, beautiful woman” upon their first meeting.
“I felt like a door had been opened to a person who made me want to be my best self,” he told Vanity Fair in June. “I find myself just wanting to be better by simply being around her because of the standard she holds.”
The rest of the world started to clue in after they posed together for an Instagram photo on Halloween ― both costumes were bear-themed ― but the couple didn’t confirm our suspicions until announcing their engagement in December.
In the weeks leading up to the baby’s arrival, Williams hosted a 1950s-themed baby shower complete with poodle skirts and old school hairdos. The tennis star gathered friends Ciara, LaLa Anthony and Eva Longoria, along with sister Venus Williams, at a retro diner.
Throughout her pregnancy, Williams was vocal about her experiences as an expectant mother, be it having nonexistent ankles, back pain or trouble sleeping. In a recent Vogue profile, she opened up about being “nervous” about the delivery and whether she would be a good mother.
“I’m not a spring chicken. The one thing I really want is an epidural, which I know a lot of people are against, but I’ve had surgeries galore, and I don’t need to experience any more pain if I can avoid it,” Williams said.
“But the biggest thing is that I don’t really think I’m a baby person. Not yet. That’s something I have to work on,” she added. “I’m so used to me-me-me, taking care of my health, my body, my career. I always ask, ‘Am I going to be good enough?’”
As for the future of her tennis career, Williams has every intention of returning to the court, especially considering she’s one title away from beating tennis legend Margaret Court’s record.
“I used to think I’d want to retire when I have kids, but no,” Williams said. “I’m definitely coming back. Walking out there and hearing the crowd, it may seem like nothing. But there’s no better feeling in the world.”
“Obviously, if I have a chance to go out there and catch up with [Margaret Court], I am not going to pass that up,” she added. “If anything, this pregnancy has given me a new power.”
Congrats to the happy couple!
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated Williams gave birth in Palm Springs, Florida. She also held her baby shower in West Palm Beach, not Los Angeles.