Serena Williams revealed that a bad dating experience in her early 20s, where she was “ghosted” by her first boyfriend, made her a better athlete. She recalled spending “a couple of weeks” in Washington, D.C., with him before the incident.
In the ESPN docuseries In The Arena: Serena Williams, the 42-year-old tennis star said “It was the first relationship that I had ever had, but I was in my 20s, so you know, whatever … and then he ghosts me, I got ghosted,” she said, cryptically referring to the mystery man as “so and so.”
She explained that she used the experience of being ghosted to push herself even harder on the tennis court, according to Daily Mail.
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“And it wasn’t even that serious, but it was like I used that and I made it way more serious than what it was,” she said.
“So, when he ghosted me, I used that as an opportunity to say, ‘He’s gonna regret this for the rest of his life.’ That was just the motivation I needed, just the excuse I used to go the extra mile.”
Williams even admitted that she could be “vengeful” while describing how hard the ghosting inspired her to become a 23-time Grand Slam champion.
“I’m gonna make sure that this person never forgets me. I’m gonna make sure that this person sees me everywhere for the rest of their life,” she said, before giving her ex a shoutout.
“I’m grateful for it, so thank you,” she said.
The sporting icon later found love with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, marrying him in 2017. The couple now shares two daughters: six-year-old Alexis Olympia and Adira River, who turns one in August.
