Twenty-three Grand Slam singles titles winner Serena Williams has just been baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness.
The mother of one, who recently retired from professional tennis, has used her time off the court to promote her various businesses “reportedly used her time away to study more about her religion, having previously expressed desire to embrace her Jehovah’s Witness faith,” according to Daily Express.
Well, it appears she has made it official to convert after a video surfaced that purports to see one of the greatest athletes of all time getting baptized.
“Serena Williams, the famous Tennis player got baptized today at the Jehovah’s Witness Assembly in West Palm Beach Florida,” reads a tweet posted on Twitter Sunday.
In 2017, Williams spoke to Vogue about the role religion has played in her life.
“Being a Jehovah’s Witness is important to me, but I’ve never really practiced it and have been wanting to get into it,” she said. “Alexis didn’t grow up going to any church, but he’s really receptive and even takes the lead. He puts my needs first.”
Her recent baptism comes just weeks after her longtime coach disclosed that he isn’t expecting her to make a “serious comeback” to the sport.
Patrick Mouratoglou told Eurosport in an interview that while he would love to see her compete at “her best level,” he doesn’t see her peaking much further unless she gives it her “absolute all.”
“Do I want to see her play? I want to see her play again,” Mouratoglou said. He further indicated that “playing at her best is something that every tennis fan really wants to see.”
Mouratoglou, who joined Williams’ team in 2012 is now setting his hopes on Holger Rune, who he currently works with and who recently graduated from his Academy.
“I think to be exceptional at something, and God knows she’s been exceptional, you have to be a little bit obsessive about it,” he said, adding that “you have to be 100% focused on the activity, otherwise even for tennis geniuses, it’s complicated.”
He continued: “Williams will be kept far too busy away from the court to ever seriously contemplate a proper return.”
The 52-year-old coach said that since giving birth to her daughter, he feels that the last leg of her career may soon be forgotten.
“I think if she’s happy at the end of her career, that’s all that matters because nobody will remember the end of her career. You remember it now because it’s fresh, but everyone will remember what a champion she was, all the Grand Slams she won, the things she brought to tennis and how she made history. The end of her career is an anecdote.”
Williams’ clinched the top spot of the 2017 Grand Slam while pregnant with her first-born named Alexis. That same year, she beat her sister Venus in the Major final for the Australian Open. At the time, it was her eighth in ten meetings on the Grand Slam stage.
She returned to the championship match in 2018 and 2019 during both editions of the Wimbledon and US Open but lost in both matches.
