She may have lost the Wimbledon title this year, but Serena Williams is still a winner in her husband’s eyes.
Alexis Ohanian penned a sweet note on Instagram after his tennis superstar wife lost to Angelique Kerber in the Ladies’ Single Final on Saturday.
“Days after our baby girl was born, I kissed my wife goodbye before surgery and neither of us knew if she would be coming back,” he captioned a picture of her looking strong and fierce on the court. “We just wanted her to survive—10 months later, she's in the #Wimbledon final.”
Williams, who has played in four tournaments since welcoming daughter Alexis Olympia to the world in September, had to deal with scary complications after the birth.
After undergoing an emergency c-section, she developed a life-threatening condition. “I ended up getting a pulmonary embolism in my lung, and I had a blood clot in my leg, she explained to TODAY’s Dylan Dryer in April.
Despite the health setback, Williams was back on the court eight weeks after the birth.
Ohanian tweeted last week that even walking to the mailbox was a painful, exhausting challenge for Williams just nine months ago, so the fact that she was playing at Wimbledon at all was nothing short of remarkable.
He cheered his wife on from the stands during Saturday’s match, and although she lost, he continued showing his support.
“@serenawilliams will be holding a trophy again soon—she's got the greatest one waiting at home for her,” he wrote on Instagram. “Our family knows she'll win many more trophies, too. She's just getting started. And I couldn't be more proud.”
Williams dedicated her game to mothers everywhere. "For all the moms out there, I was playing for you today," she said during a post-match interview.
Trophy or not, it sounds like she’ll always be the champion in her family.