Serena Williams’ Engagement Will Not Distract Her From Her Career
Serena Williams may be engaged, but she won’t let her engagement or her huge engagement ring distract her from her career.
The 35-year-old tennis sensation is entering her 20th year as a professional athlete, and currently has her eye set on winning the Australian Open.
USA Today reported that Williams met with the press on Saturday. The notoriously tight-lipped tennis pro did not discuss her engagement, only saying,”I’m just here to play and to win, obviously, but just to play.”
Serena Williams could well be on her way to winning another Grand Slam trophy, bringing her total to 23 which would break the Open-Era record of 22 trophies, an honor she shares with Steffi Graf. The all-time Grand Slam record is held by Margaret Court, who has won 24 titles.
On the verge of such a monumental achievement, Serena Williams is refusing to allow herself to be distracted by her engagement. Her Instagram page reflects her ambition, with many of her posts showing her commitment to the sport. Her most recent post shows her training for the Grand Slam in Australia, which she refers to as “Oz.”
Another recent post discusses the importance of having a passion that is “just for you,” proving that, while Serena may be engaged, she is still devoted to her career and having a little “me” time. Many of her updates in the past few weeks are more focused on showing off her Wilson racket rather than on flaunting her engagement ring.
Serena Williams is engaged to Alex Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit. While she did share a picture of her engagement ring on the website, she also shared the same photo on her Instagram account with one difference. In her personal Instagram page, Williams chose to edit out the rock and draw attention to the Nike tennis shoes she is wearing as she poses next to her fiancé.
The relationship between Alex Ohanian and Serena Williams is not one that has been widely publicized. According to The Washington Post, the pair have been together since at least October 2015, after Williams had previously dated such superstars as Drake and Common. While Ohanian is reportedly “no internet billionaire,” he did sell Reddit to Conde Nast a year after founding the website in 2006, and is now worth approximately $4.5 million.
Though Williams is not talking much about her engagement, fans are not worried that it is because she is in an unhappy relationship. Serena has made it clear that she is set on her career and finding a balance between her work and her personal life.
According to Telegraph, it is not unusual for Williams to keep quiet about her personal life, rarely divulging many details on social media. She addressed the engagement when interviewed by the press at the Australian Open.
“It’s almost a little unreal right now, because I haven’t taken it in. I’m being rather selfish and focused on my career. It happened right in the middle of pre-season. I was doing training, cardio, all kinds of stuff. Now I’m on the road, already back at work. I don’t want to get too happy because I want to stay focused.”
While Serena Williams said that the engagement has “been really great,” she added that she doesn’t want to “think about it until after Australia” as winning “Grand slams mean a lot.”
The Australian Open will be held January 16-29. Serena Williams is one of the favorites to win the Women’s Singles.
[Featured Image by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images]
