My Daughter Will Have A Voice – Serena Williams

Following the birth of her daughter on Saturday, tennis superstar Serena Williams shared some of her wishes for the child

Serena Williams, the Women’s Tennis Association’s number one-ranked tennis player and her fiancé, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, welcomed their first child on Friday.

The 35-year-old star shared the news of her pregnancy in 19 April. She posted a picture of herself posing in a yellow bathing suite on her Snapchat with a caption announcing that she was 20 weeks pregnant.

According to CNBC, in an interview on an episode of Kneading Dough, a show that sees athletes discuss financial topics, Williams disclosed the three things she wishes for her baby. The first was if her daughter were to become an athlete, she would want her to earn prize money equal to her male counterparts.

“If my daughter were to play a sport, and she was able to have equal prize money and equal pay or equal rights – I feel like that would be a success too,” she said.

Addressing the gender pay gap, which is an issue in most professions, Williams said she hopes her daughter will speak up and be active in changing the narrative. “If necessary, I would really want her to speak up for it,” she said. “Well, any daughter of mine will have a voice.”

She went on to express how she wished her daughter would live her life with the values instilled in her by her parents. Recalling her childhood, Williams said she hopes her child does not allow circumstances to determine her future, and instead, focuses on happiness and being content.

“Looking back, we grew up in a two-bedroom house and there were seven people,” she said. “I don’t know how my parents were able to make me feel that way, but they did. It was really special.”

Speaking to ESPN, her sister, Venus, said: “Obviously, I’m super-excited. Words can’t describe it.”

Forbes recently released its list of the highest-paid female athletes, and, to no-one’s surprise, Serena Williams is right at the top and leads by a significant margin.

Between June 2016 and June 2017, Williams earned $27 million (R361,19 million), Forbes reports. This is more than double that of any other female athlete in the world this year. While she’s earned a lot of prize money, much of Williams’ revenue comes from her multitude of endorsements.

This is Williams’ second straight year as the highest-earning athlete.