Just weeks after welcoming her daughter Olympia (and now a mother of two), Serena Williams, the tennis legend, wrote a moving note to her mother, Oracene Price. In it, she celebrated Oracene’s strength as a parent, calling her “one of the strongest women I know,” and thanked her for her constant support through her career’s ups and downs. While her father, Richard Williams, was instrumental in their tennis training, her mother, Oracene, provided the crucial backend support that was equally vital to the Williams sisters’ success. This journey of motherhood has recently reminded Williams of the “invaluable contributions” of her “super-mom.”
In 2021, during an interview with the ‘Good Morning America’, Serena Williams spoke about one of the biggest inspirational figures in her life. She said, “I’ve always been inspired by my mom, but I’ve never been inspired to the level that I am now. I respect her so much more. Not that I didn’t, but I think when I had a baby, I relied on her more than I ever have. I never expected that, so that’s really cool for me.” Four years earlier to that interview, Serena became a mother herself.
Williams gave birth to Olympia on September 1, 2017, and then almost six years later, Alexis Ohanian and Serena welcomed their second child, Adira. Since welcoming her first child, she has had to overcome quite a few difficult moments, including a life-threatening condition and postpartum depression. Highlighting the struggles of being a mother, she revealed, “Sometimes I get really down and feel like, Man, I can’t do this.” But during all these moments, she, at times, used to get reminded of her own mother, who worked tirelessly to push them where they are today.
On April 10, Serena Williams came up with a tweet saying, “Far too often being a mom is a thankless full time job, with no time or energy left to care for yourself or move at the end of the day. I’m gonna thank my mom tomorrow for all she did for me -the things seen and unseen. #tired #exhausted #mom.”
Far too often being a mom is a thankless full time job, with no time or energy left to care for yourself or move at the end of the day. I’m gonna thank my mom tomorrow for all she did for me -the things seen and unseen. #tired #exhausted #mom
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) April 10, 2025
Just last year, during an interview at the New York Times DealBook Summit, Serena was asked to share her thoughts on the contributions of her parents in her life. Replying to that, Williams said, “I say that if you have to take a human body, my dad was a body and my mom was a spine and I think there’s no better way to describe it that’s how important and into us, she was to us to our family to my career um and uh yeah she really particularly with me she worked on my mental toughness more than anything else.”
In the same year, Venus, in an interview with the Hamilton College community, talked about her mother’s role in their upbringing. “She’s the woman with the values. She’s the grounding force. So without my mom, I don’t think we could have done anything we did in the sport,” she remarked. She hails her mother as a “strong role model.”
Talking about role models, well, recently Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian was also spotted getting a bit nostalgic while getting reminded of his late mother, Anke, during a memorable experience in Sweden.
Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian’s Nordic experience reminds him of his late mother
In 2005, Alexis Ohanian’s mother was diagnosed with an untreatable, cancerous brain tumor, Glioblastoma. Her conditions got worse after that and three years later, in March 2008, Anke passed away at the age of just 54. After the demise of his mother, Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis felt a bit dejected, but soon he managed to turn those negative emotions into something positive by establishing the 776 foundation.
Last year, on his mother’s death anniversary, Ohanian penned down a heartfelt note saying, “My mom died 16 years ago today. This used to be the hardest day of the year for me (Ides of March, go figure) and then 3 years ago I started my family foundation — and found a new meaning to this day — one that I know she’d have been proud of.”
Recently, Ohanian shared a video clip from his recent Sweden trip. In that video, he showcased an assortment of Nordic licorice, a distinctly flavored “salty licorice” or Finnish “salmiakki“, is a beloved treat across Nordic nations and it’s also found in Benelux and norther Germany. Since Anke was born and raise in Hamburg, Germany, Ohanian revealed her mother used to love these things. So, when he saw those, it reminded him of his late mother.
Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian captioned the post saying, “This Nordic licorice reminds me of my mom, she loved the stuff — it’s not for the weak — but I love it too NGL. Tack Sweden! see ya again soon.”
Both Alexis and Serena consider their mom as the biggest inspirational figures in their lives. So, perhaps with the Mother’s Day knocking at the doors, they are now getting reminded of their mom more often.
The post Living the ‘Thankless’ Motherhood Grind, Serena Williams Sees Her Mom Oracene Price in a New Light appeared first on EssentiallySports.
