"I'm being selfish, focused on my career" - When Serena Williams got engaged to fiance Alexis Ohanian & showed up days later at Australian Open

At the 2017 Australian Open, Serena Williams arrived at a Grand Slam as an engaged woman for the first time, just days after her engagement to entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian. The two married that same year in November, a couple of months before their welcomed their first daughter Olympia.

At her pre-tournament press conference, Williams was asked how it felt to be engagement, a feeling the American very much enjoyed. At the same time, Williams jokingly revealed that she told her then fiance that Grand Slams were very important to her, and that she had to stop thinking about her personal life for the time being.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion admitted, in fact, that the decision was a little selfish on her part, even if the overall emotion of being engaged felt surreal in the back of her mind.

"Yeah, it's been really great. I've said from the beginning, I just didn't want to think about it until after Australia because I was, like, Grand Slams mean a lot to me. I was, like, Well, I'm not going to think about it."

"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," Serena Williams said.

Serena Williams maintained that she was trying very hard not to lose herself in the happiness of being engaged, actively trying not to think about the decision she had made only days earlier.

"Not really because I don't think I've had an opportunity to, like, let everything sink in. I won't allow it to sink in because I'm so focused. It was right in the middle of pre-season. I'm really focused training, cardio, all kinds of stuff," Serena Williams said.

"Now I'm on the road, already back at work. I don't want to get too happy because I want to stay focused," she added.

Williams, for those unaware, revealed the engagement announcement with an adorable poem on Reddit, the same social media site Alexis Ohanian co-created.

“I came home. A little late. Someone had a bag packed for me. And a carriage waited. Destination: Rome,” Williams wrote.

“To escort me to my very own ‘charming.’ Back to where our stars first collided. And now it was full circle. At the same table we first met by chance," she added.

How did Serena Williams fare at the 2017 Australian Open?

2022 US Open - Day 5 - Source: Getty

Serena Williams had the time of her life at the 2017 Australian Open, winning the title without losing a set. With the win, she overtook Steffi Graf's record of 22 Grand Slams in the Open Era, and is still the woman with the most Majors in the Open Era.

In the final, she took down her sister Venus Williams, their final meeting in the final of a Grand Slam. It was also the final Major of Williams' career, who retired in 2022. Weeks after the win, it came to light that Williams was pregnant with her daughter Olympia during the 2017 Australian Open.