From her stance on social and political issues, her incredible athletic record, and her transparency on experiences with motherhood, Serena Williams is, without a doubt, a force to be reckoned with. She is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, professional tennis player, and businesswoman. While she was eight weeks pregnant, Williams earned her twenty-third Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, adding to her astounding legacy. Williams has openly expressed her thoughts on numerous social and feminist issues, including racial bias faced by Black women in healthcare, sexual misconduct, the wage gap, girls’ access to education, and the many pressures that motherhood can carry. Undeniably, her influence extends far beyond being the greatest tennis player of all time.
In September 2017, Williams nearly died giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. She told CNN, “My daughter was born by emergency C-section after her heart rate dropped dramatically during contractions. The surgery went smoothly. But what followed just 24 hours after giving birth were six days of uncertainty.” Williams suffered a pulmonary embolism, an artery in her lung becoming obstructed by a blood clot and resulting in further surgical procedures. After doctors treated her for the large haematoma found in her abdomen, Williams spent six weeks resting. In an interview with Vogue for the February 2018 issue, she candidly described the struggles of recovery, stating, “No one talks about the low moments — the pressure you feel, the incredible letdown every time you hear the baby cry. I’ve broken down I don’t know how many times. Or I’ll get angry about the crying, then sad about being angry, and then guilty, like, Why do I feel so sad when I have a beautiful baby? The emotions are insane.”
Revealing the severity of her medical situation in a piece written for CNN, Williams remarked, “I am so grateful I had access to such an incredible medical team of doctors and nurses at a hospital with state-of-the-art equipment.” She went on to shed light on a widely overlooked issue: the racial bias Black women face in healthcare. Williams stated, “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women in the United States are over three times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes.” While attending the Tiebreak Tens event in New York, she remarked, “Doctors aren’t listening to us, just to be quite frank… I had a wonderful, wonderful doctor. Unfortunately a lot of African Americans and black people don’t have the same experience that I’ve had. Also there are some things we are genetically predisposed to that some people aren’t. So knowing that going in, or some doctors not caring as much for us, is heartbreaking.”
Health complications, childbirth, and motherhood is difficult for anyone to navigate, and unfortunately, the obstacles are substantially more formidable for Black women. Williams told BBC, we must become comfortable having uncomfortable conversations, and women need to know that they have the right to be treated fairly.
Williams also brought attention to the global problem of unsafe childbirth. In her CNN piece, Williams wrote, “Around the world, thousands of women struggle to give birth in the poorest countries…Before they even bring a new life into this world, the cards are already stacked against them.” The lack of proper facilities, sanitation, medicine, doctors, and surgeons threatens the safety of women every day. Williams notes that the scarcity of basic medical necessities causes several issues for women whose complications are even less severe than what she experienced.
In an interview with Vogue, Williams discussed her intentions for her daughter Olympia, stating, “I know that we’re sometimes taught to not dream as big as men, not to believe we can be a president or a CEO, when in the same household, a male child is told he can be anything he wants. I’m so glad I had a daughter. I want to teach her that there are no limits.” In an effort to further use her platform to facilitate change, Williams joined the board of the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative, designed to support diversity in leadership. This allows for a concentration on granting more opportunities and recognition for women and people of color. She has spoken up about gun violence as well, her family having suffered the loss of Yetunde Price, her half-sister.
Williams has also worked closely on educational projects in Kenya and Jamaica through her campaign, the Serena Williams Fund. Along with her sister Venus, she has facilitated in the establishment of two schools in Kenya and one in Jamaica. Williams revealed that she witnessed the uphill battle for girls’ educational rights in Kenya, stating, “We ended up on 60%-40% either way, because usually they send only boys to school in this area. And we were really excited with that because usually if there’s 10 kids, there would be like nine boys to one girl.”
It seems that Williams will continue to be an inspirational figure to many and a compelling voice of change in the years to come.
