USA TODAY International Edition
Serena shows up to support sister Venus
PARIS A noticeably pregnant Serena Williams was a special visitor to the French Open on Wednesday when she watched her sister Venus win her secondround match 6- 3, 6- 1 against Kurumi Nara of Japan.
Serena didn’t sit with the rest of her family, preferring to sit under an overhang in the player’s box where the sun would not beat down.
After the match, Serena, donning a floral light raincoat over a white Nike T- shirt that revealed her blossoming stomach, was a sought- after person in the player lounge area. Fellow players, former hitting partner Sascha Bajin, her sister’s agent Carlos Fleming and just about anyone she passed was hugging her and offering congratulations.
She first greeted a handful of news media, who were also waiting and hoping for a chat, with the suggestion they talk to the players who are participating in this French Open, laughing, “I’m on break.”
Later she offered a few more tidbits as she walked toward the transportation area sporting a Roland Garros shopping bag, which she confirmed contained presents for the baby.
“It feels fine,” she said of being here but not playing. “I don’t feel anything. It’s just a part of my life.”
She’s now six months pregnant. She said it’s been an easy pregnancy and “I know it’s going to make me sad” that she’ll have to stop traveling until the baby is born. She had been in Monaco over the weekend for sponsorship outings and attended the Monaco Grand Prix Formula One race with fiancé Alexis Ohanian on Sunday.
After winning the 80- minute match in which her serve was broken once, Venus Williams spoke about Serena coming to watch her play.
“I’m sure she feels the excitement of being at a major and not having the pressure to play and prepare,” Venus said. “Must be an interesting feeling to say the least. But she knows exactly what it’s like out there, and she’s had a lot of success here. If she stays here through the end, I would like that.”
While many of the players are speaking to the notion that the draw seems easier to navigate without Serena, Venus wasn’t buying it.
“Of course my goal is to win every match that I play,” Venus said. “I don’t want to walk out on the court and say, ‘ Oh, this one is not one I want to win.’ Do I sense it’s open? I just am really focused on me and nothing’s a given or else I’d win every game.”
Whether Venus — or Serena — will be here to the end of the tournament is a wait- and- see situation. But for now the word is that Serena will be back to watch Venus play her third- round match against Elise Mertens of Belgium on Friday.