Serena Williams Says Daughter 'Doesn't Actually Like to Play Tennis'

Serena Williams
Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Michelob ULTRA

The pro athlete admitted her daughter's lack of love for tennis is 'a little disappointing.'

Serena Williams' daughter may not follow in her tennis footsteps. During an appearance on Person to Person With Norah O'Donnell, the 41-year-old pro athlete revealed that her 5-year-old daughter, Olympia, hasn't fallen in love with the sport just yet.

"Olympia's doing good. She doesn't actually like to play tennis too much," Williams said. "That's a little disappointing for me, but she's actually really good at it. So we are trying to figure out a way to get her to play a little bit."

When O'Donnell suggested that girls can be encouraged to play sports if there's a social aspect, Williams acknowledged that that may be the key for her daughter.

"Olympia loves being social. It's interesting because, growing up playing tennis I don't think I loved being social, but looking back, I was always with my sister, so obviously, it was super social," she said. "That makes sense that girls like to have that social sport and it's a social aspect of that. I think it's actually super, super important. She loves being around friends. She loves going to school."

Williams continued by noting, "Maybe I can push her into tennis by getting other kids to have a group lesson." 

"I think that's what I'm gonna do," she decided, before telling O'Donnell, "You just gave me a nice clue, because I really want her to play at least a little bit because she's actually really good at it."

Williams' comments came five months after she stepped away from professional tennis following her US Open run.

When ET spoke to Williams last month, she reflected on life post-tennis, stating, "Literally my entire life I've played tennis, and that's a very long time. So this is the first time I'm actually not doing that... I definitely love tennis and I love practicing and I love training when I can, but I'm trying not to get this bug. I'm trying to just have fun."

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