Serena Williams shared a sultry snap from the past.
Williams, 42, took to Instagram on Monday, October 9, to share a throwback photo using a prompt that encouraged users to “Share a pic from a VERYYY different time in your life.” In the image, she posed in a Dax & Jolie black bikini featuring a scoop neckline and strappy bottoms. Her brunette locks were twisted into an updo, and she donned a fresh face as she showed off her abs and belly button piercing.
The tennis icon originally posted the pic seven years ago in July 2016. At the time, she had not yet married husband Alexis Ohanian and had not given birth to her two daughters: Olympia, 6, and Adria, 2 months.
Williams announced her second pregnancy at the 2023 Met Gala in May, showing off her growing baby bump in a Gucci gown. She teamed the garment with layers of pearl necklaces, a bedazzled headband, a cropped blazer and knee-high boots. “Was so excited when Anna Wintour invited the 3 of us to the Met Gala,” she captioned a red carpet pic.
In August, she announced Adria’s arrival with a sweet family photo. In the snap, Williams cradled her newborn while Olympia and Alexis wrapped their arms around her.
Ohanian also shared a sweet message of his own to welcome Adria. “I’m grateful to report our house is teaming with love: a happy & healthy newborn girl and happy & healthy mama,” he wrote at the time. “Feeling grateful. @serenawilliams you’ve now given me another incomparable gift — you’re the GMOAT. Thanks to all the amazing medical staff who took care of my wife & our daughter 🙏 I’ll never forget the moment I introduced @olympiaohanian to her baby sister.”
The couple tied the knot in November 2017, two months after Olympia was born. In the February 2018 issue of Vogue, Williams opened up about experiencing complications that led to her requiring an emergency C-section.
The following year, she opened up to Allure about her postpartum journey in a January 2019 interview. “I’m feeling pretty good about my body. I worked hard at it in the past eight months to get back from the baby,” she said. “It hasn’t been easy. I’m not 21 anymore. But I did it slow and steady. After I came out [of the hospital], I had a stomach, but I thought, This is kind of cool. I have a stomach because the baby was there.”
Williams has since announced her retirement from pro tennis, noting in an August 2022 Vogue essay that it wasn’t “fair” for women to “have to choose” between their careers and families. “If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family,” she wrote. “Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity.”
