Serena Williams says she never left Olympia for more than 24 hours until age 6

Serena Williams is opening up about motherhood and the way becoming a mom completely reshaped her priorities.

During a live taping of IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, the retired tennis icon admitted she’s never really approached parenting with some perfectly crafted philosophy or step-by-step plan – especially compared to her sister Venus Williams.

“Venus is a planner,” Serena said while laughing. “She writes everything down.” According to Serena, her older sister has always been the organized one who reads all the books and maps everything out ahead of time. 

The 23 Grand Slam title holder, meanwhile, says she’s always been a little more instinctive, even if every other area of her life is carefully labeled and organized. “Obviously, I have spiritual goals for the kids. I have, you know, ideas for education goals. I have those types of things, but I never really thought much about it. I don’t have a philosophy,” she explained. “My philosophy is just to be the best that I can be to show up.”

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And for Serena, showing up means being extremely present with her daughters, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, 8, and Adira, 2.

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The former tennis champion revealed she refused to spend more than 24 hours away from Olympia until her daughter turned six years old.

“If I have to do something, I’m gone no more than 24 hours. Ever,” Serena shared. “I didn’t leave Olympia until she was six for 24 hours.”

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She admitted the decision may sound “a little extreme,” but said that level of presence is simply who she is as a mother. “I show up as much as I can every single day for the girls,” she explained. “Because I feel like they mean the most to me, and I feel they need me, and they need to make sure, I wanna raise my children. “

Serena also reflected on how much of her parenting style comes from her own upbringing and the example set by her parents, Richard Williams and Oracene Price.  “I felt like I love my parents and how they raised us, and just kind of pick and choose out of some of the things that they raised us with, in particular with my mom,” she shared. 

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At the center of it all, Serena says she wants to be hands-on in shaping who her daughters become. “I’m a person who’s raising my kids,” she said. “Teaching them how I want them to live and how I want them to be.”

For someone who spent decades traveling nonstop and competing around the world, Serena admitting she wouldn’t leave her daughter for more than a day until age six says everything about how seriously she takes motherhood.