“On social media you press the wrong button and … 30 minutes later I missed 4 calls and I’m like, ‘That’s weird,’” she told Gayle King at a TED conference that same month.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion revealed that she took the photo to privately document the pregnancy.

“I have this thing where I’ve been checking my status and taking pictures every week to see how far along I’m getting,” the athlete explained. “I’ve been so good about it, but this was the one time it slipped.”

Williams has been loving motherhood ever since. “She keeps me going especially during tournaments,” the Michigan native wrote via Instagram in 2019. “I know she’s watching and learning to see how I persevere in challenging and rewarding moments.”

In 2020, the former Olympian won her first singles title since becoming a mom.

In August, Williams announced she was retiring from tennis after the U.S. Open. “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me,” Williams wrote in an essay for Vogue‘s September cover story. “But I’ve been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis. Alexis, my husband, and I have hardly talked about it; it’s like a taboo topic. I can’t even have this conversation with my mom and dad. It’s like it’s not real until you say it out loud.”

The four-time Olympic gold medalist said that she will instead focus on developing her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, and expanding her family. “Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair,” she continued. “If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family. Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that  opportunity.  (US Magazine)