The Freeman

Serena's strength and fears unveiled in new docu

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NEWYORK—Serena Williams, winner of an Open Era-record 23 Grand Slam singles titles, unveils the joys and pains of her private life in an HBO documentar­y debuting Wednesday.

In the five-part-series, the former WTA world number one re counts her victory in last year's Australian Open, complicati­ons surroundin­g the birth of her eight-monthold daughter Olympia and her wedding to Alexis Oh an ian last November.

"It's about ups and downs," Williams said in an HBO interview released Tuesday.

Williams won the Australian Open while pregnant and returned in February alongside her sister Venus in a US Fed Cup firstround tie. She lost to Venus in the third round at Indian Wells and to Japan's Naomi Osaka at Miami in her WTA returns.

"I'm sure there are some moments in there that I'm not excited about. But that's what it's all about," Williams said. "The camera follows you. You have to just allow yourself to just be."

Williams revealed in an interview with Vogue that she suffered a pulmonary embolism after her daughter was born and spent six weeks recovering with bed rest.

"I chose now to share these moments because I was going through something different in my life," Williams said. "I always wanted to get it down in a documentar­y so I can always say to my daughter, 'Olympia look at all of these moments.'"

Among the behindthe-scenes footage included in the presentati­on are wedding dress fittings, time with her baby and husband and pets plus wedding photos and even images of her in the hospital as well as seeing Olympia for the first time.(AFP)

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