"I had opinions" - Serena Williams' sister Venus Williams opens up on naming baby daughter Adira and wanting to 'put an order' for a child of her own

Venus Williams recently opened up about becoming an aunt for the second time after her sister Serena Williams gave birth to daughter Adira River Ohanian.

Six years after the birth of their first daughter, Olympia, Serena and her husband Alexis Ohanian welcomed their second child together, daughter Adira, in August 2023.

After announcing their pregnancy at the MET gala earlier this year, the couple frequently shared updates about the same on social media. Serena and Ohanian also hosted an extravagant gender reveal party, where they pranked the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s sister Venus, who was visibly excited to learn whether she would be having a niece or a nephew.

In a recent video on her YouTube channel, Venus Williams touched upon Adira’s birth and also revealed that Serena Williams consulted her about naming the child.

“The most important thing is obviously the birth of my new niece Adira. Serena asked me – I know I don’t have a vote and I know Alexis is so much more important than me – she’s like, ‘What should I name her?’ And I said, ‘Whatever you want.’” Venus Williams said in her recent ‘Life Updates’ video on YouTube (08:22).

Venus jokingly admitted that she had her opinions on what the baby’s name should be, but chose not to interfere since she wasn’t the one carrying her for nine months.

“Of course, I had opinions. I wanted to name her a certain name. But I didn’t say anything because that’s not my job,” Venus Williams laughed. “They’re supposed to decide as a family what they want to name their daughter. I did not carry her for nine months and I don’t change her diaper every day, although I would. I really would. So, I stayed out of it.”

Venus went on to add that she is fond of the name Adira, which denotes strength and power. She also jokingly confessed that she wanted to ‘order’ a child of her own, just as cute as her sister Serena’s daughters.

“She has a beautiful name. Her name is Adira, which has this connotation of being strong, and she is beautiful. I literally just want to put an order in and say, ‘Hey, can you get my baby here in one year and make it just as cute as Olympia and Adira.’ They're such beautiful kids” the seven-time Grand Slam champion joked.

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Serena Williams' sister Venus Williams on welcoming Adira: "All of us are much more ready to take this on"

Serena Williams and Venus Williams at HISTORY Talks 2022

When her first daughter Olympia was born, Serena Williams had shared about the life-threatening complications she faced during labor. Taking that into account, her husband Alexis Ohanian applied for a paid paternity leave when Adira was born and has been actively advocating for the cause.

In the aforementioned YouTube video, Venus Williams also discussed how becoming an aunt to Serena’s first daughter helped her when her second niece was born.

“I’m really excited to be an aunt for the second time. It’s an interesting experience the second time around because seeing Serena like my sister, and seeing her be a mom, I have to say it took me years to get – not get used to it – but it’s like it’s surreal. It’s like, ‘Oh my God there’s a baby here! Oh my God, Serena’s a mom! It’s this whole new thing and it’s beautiful but it takes a while to really like ‘Wow!’” she said.

The five-time Wimbledon champion noted that she and the family are much more prepared this time around.

“The second time around, you’re not as in ‘Wow,’ you are like, ‘Yeah, it’s here and it’s so beautiful.’ I think all of us are much more ready to take this on. You learn so much the first time around, the second time you can just be so much more prepared,” she added.