Serena Williams, the renowned tennis icon, is a baptized member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and she openly acknowledges her faith as a contributing element to her remarkable accomplishments both within and outside the realm of tennis.
For those unaware, Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Christian religious group with over eight million members worldwide who have unique beliefs. They believe Jesus is not on the same level as God. According to them, Jesus was created by God and did not coexist with Him.
They do not consider the Holy Spirit to be equal to the Father. Instead, they think the Holy Spirit is a divine energy. The Witnesses also do not celebrate Christmas, Easter, national holidays, and birthdays, as according to their official website, ‘such celebrations displease god.’The news that Serena Williams was a Jehovah’s Witness first came to light in 2018, as her first-born daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., approached her first birthday. The 42-year-old shared that she and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, would not be celebrating their daughter’s birthday since it would go against their faith.
“Olympia doesn’t celebrate birthdays. We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, so we don’t do that,” Williams said in a press conference in 2018 during the US Open.
Serena Williams has long turned to religion during her career, and after her older half-sister Yetunde Price was killed in a shooting in 2003, she began attending Witnesses meetings.
In a 2015 interview with Vogue, Williams opened up about her religious beliefs, saying:
“Being a Jehovah’s Witness is important to me, but I’ve never really practiced it and have been wanting to get into it.”
Serena Williams was later baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness in January 2023. The videos and photos of the ceremony at the Jehovah’s Witness Assembly in West Palm Beach, Florida, surfaced online afterwards.This happened after the American drew the curtain on her illustrious career, which saw her win 23 Grand Slam titles and four Olympic gold medals, among other achievements, at the 2022 US Open.
Serena Williams once revealed how she felt ‘bothered’ as a Jehovah’s Witness after US Open 2009 controversy
Serena Williams was fined a record $82,500 for threatening a lineswoman who issued a foot fault against her at the 2009 US Open.Williams, the defending champion, faced unseeded and unranked Kim Clijsters in the semifinal at Flushing Meadows, who won the first set 4-6. In the second set, with the score at 5-6, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was serving to push for a tiebreaker when she was penalized for a foot fault on her second serve, giving Clijsters double match points.The American then argued and directed a rant at the offending lineswoman, and threatened her to “shove this ball down your throat.” The chair umpire then issued a point penalty for the outburst and Clijsters won the match.
Later, in a 2012 interview with The New York Times, Serena Williams shared she was ‘bothered’ by her behavior as a Jehovah’s Witness and thought she had let her religion down.
“What bothered me most was that I was representing my religion. I just felt like anyone who knew I was a Witness was stumbled. And I really don’t want to stumble anybody,” she said.
The American then received a call from one of the Witnesses regarding the controversial matter, which she knew was coming.
“They had to have a talk with me. And I knew it was coming. I just felt really bad, though, because it’s like, that’s not who I am,” Serena Williams said.
