“He’s not a woman, he doesn’t understand" - When Serena Williams was told by ex-coach that she had to stop breast-feeding her daughter Olympia

Serena Williams gave birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017. Most famously, she was pregnant with her during the Australian Open that year, a tournament she went on to win beating sister Venus Williams in the final.

After taking a brief maternity hiatus, Williams returned to action the following season, coached by Patrick Mouratoglou. Unfortunately, it was not an easy road for the American.

Speaking in an interview with TIME magazine in 2018, the 23-time Grand Slam champ revealed that in order to keep her fitness, she was advised by her coach not to breast-feed.

Initially, it was not a decision Williams agreed with, lamenting that Mouratoglou, as a man, did not understand the connection she had with the daughter she gave birth to. Serena Williams also argued about why she had to give up something she wanted to do for her child, especially after giving up so much of her life for others.

“It’s absolutely hard to take from a guy,” Serena Williams said. “He’s not a woman, he doesn’t understand that connection, that the best time of the day for me was when I tried to feed her. I’ve spent my whole life making everyone happy, just servicing it seems like everyone. And this is something I wanted to do.”

However, the former World No. 1 quickly understood her coach was right, and chose not to nurse her daughter in order to get her physical fitness back to where it should be for professional tennis.

“I looked at Olympia, and I was like, ‘Listen, Mommy needs to get her body back, so Mommy’s going to stop now.’ We had a really good conversation. We talked it out," she added.

"Something she just wants Mommy" - Serena Williams on her bond to daughter Olympia

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In the interview, Serena Williams spoke in detail about her bond with Olympia, recalling how she would want only to be with her mother at times.

The American admitted that she would have to learn how to balance her tennis life with her motherhood duties, praising other mothers who seemed to do it so well.

“Sometimes she just wants Mommy, she doesn’t want anyone else,” Serena Williams said. “I still have to learn a balance of being there for her, and being there for me. I’m working on it. I never understood women before, when they put themselves in second or third place. And it’s so easy to do. It’s so easy to do.”

Serena Williams, who married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in 2017, now has two children, with a second daughter Adira joining the family in 2024.