On the phone from Melbourne, Australia, the champion tennis player shares how she’s maintaining balance during this time.
How Serena Williams Is Finding Happiness in 2021
Serena Williams has a starring role—this time off the court—in a commercial that will air during this year’s Super Bowl. It’s for Michelob Ultra, and also includes the likes of former quarterback Peyton Manning and basketball player Anthony Davis. The spot has a surprisingly philosophical message: “Does joy lead to success, or does success lead to joy? Are you happy because you win, or do you win because you are happy?” The question feels especially pertinent now, during lockdown, when stress is at an all-time high.
Williams is the rarity among us whose life hasn’t changed too much since the start of the pandemic: Tennis’s solitary nature means it has been able to go on, albeit with a limited audience. (Williams is currently in Australia, where she will be playing in the Australian Open with socially distanced spectators.) She’s been able to continue traveling on tour, maintaining a fitness routine much as she always has. But she is, still, uniquely positioned to offer advice on work-life balance, particularly now that she’s taken on mothering a toddler (she gave birth to baby Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. in the fall of 2017) alongside her champion athleticism. Those dual responsibilities have, of course, changed the parameters of her day. “Because of my daughter, I wake up a little earlier now,” she says, on the phone from Melbourne. “Whenever I hear a voice, it is this mommy instinct and I automatically wake up, and she wakes up really early.” During the day, Williams can be found working out, often with a racquet in hand, but sometimes weights instead. “[My workout] really evolves into what I need to work on for my body specifically because I am an athlete in addition to what my regular tennis routine is. The tennis never changes,” she says. “I do [tennis] a couple hours, two to three or four hours a day, and then usually two hours [of general working out].”
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Liana Satenstein
