"Never been around boys unless I was dating one" - Serena Williams sheds light on 'codependent' bond with sister Venus, delights in having 2 daughters

Serena Williams recently opened up about the close bond she shares with her sister, Venus Williams. The 23-time Grand Slam winner also talked about being surrounded by women while growing up and how it made her cherish becoming the mother to her daughters Olympia and Adira.

Williams and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian got married on November 16, 2017, at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans. The couple share two daughters - Olympia Ohanian, born on September 1, 2017, and Adira River Ohanian, born in August last year.

During a recent interview with Glamour, Serena expressed love for her Venus Williams and also opened up about the birth of her younger daughter, Adira.

Despite experiencing a challenging birthing process with her older daughter, Olympia, the 42-year-old said that she wanted to 'savor' the experience of giving birth to Adira owing to the deep connection Serena herself had with her sister and the powerful female influence in her life while growing up.

“I mean, I grew up with girls. I’d honestly never been around boys unless I was dating one. And sisters are so special. Some things never change. I don’t even want to not be codependent with her [Venus Williams]. I love her. I don’t want our lives to ever be separate,” Williams said.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion claimed that it was a privilege having Venus on tour, explaining that tennis can be a "lonely" sport, requiring players to be on the road for most of the year. Revealing that she and Venus Williams even lived together until the birth of her elder daughter, Olympia, Serena said:

“Tennis is so lonely. You’re on the road for 10 or 11 months out of the year. You really rely on having someone else out there. And Venus was there, and who else was going to relate to me? We were successful, and we were Black . We leaned on each other. We lived together . We lived together until a year before I had Olympia, so literally our whole lives.”

The former World No.1 grew up with four sisters, Venus Williams, Yetunde Price, Lyndrea Price, and Isha Price.

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"Serena Williams & Venus Williams never fought as kids, two peas in a pod" - Former coach on the Williams sisters' strong bond

Serena Williams (L) & Venus Williams (R) pictured at an event [Source: Getty]

Growing up, Venus and Serena Williams' family moved from California to Florida so they could train under coach Rick Macci.

Macci started coaching the Williams sisters when Serena was nine and Venus was 10. On 27 September, via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Rick Macci shared an anecdote that highlighted the strong relationship the sisters shared.

The 69-year-old coach revealed that Venus and Serena Williams never fought as kids, and were always seen together. Likening them to "two peas in a pod", Macci wrote:

"They never fought as kids. Two peas in a pod. Always skipping holding hands smiling playing with dolls and stealing her food. On court always fought. Two pea shooters. Still smiling playing against the enemy but stealing points instead of food. @serenawilliams @Venuseswilliams," Rick Macci posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Their strong connection translated to on-court success as well, with the Williams sisters winning 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic doubles gold medals.