Serena Williams is used to crowds of adoring fans when she takes the court, but the pandemic has meant the tennis superstar is battling for a U.S. Open championship in a largely empty stadium. She’s still got the support of one adoring (and extremely adorable) fan in particular, though: her 3-year-old daughter Olympia.

Cameras captured an incredibly cute moment at the Open on Saturday when baby Olympia spotted Serena on the court. She excitedly shouted “Mama!” as Serena delightedly waved back.


The super sweet exchange is absolutely heart-melting, and seeing her little girl’s smiling face may given Serena a boost on her way to victory: she beat fellow American Sloan Stephens, and followed it up with another win against Greece’s Maria Sakkari on Monday. That put Serena through to the quarter-finals, meaning just a few more wins could earn her another championship. How cool is it to see a mama crushing it in her career post-baby?

data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">

Earlier in the summer, when Serena was presumably hard at work training for the tournament, fans went wild when she shared snaps of Olympia wielding a tennis racket of her own. It’s so easy to imagine Olympia being a star in her own right someday, especially since Serena says the toddler has already developed a love of the game. “She’s a fan of tennis, she loves watching, she comes out and watches me practice,” the proud mama said in one post-match interview. “She’s 3 now… I gotta get a racquet in her hand.” We have a feeling we know at least one name we’ll be seeing at the U.S. Open in 15 years or so (but no pressure).

data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">

Serena and Olympia have been an iconic duo for a while now, dating back to Serena’s incredible Australian Open win back in 2017. Unbeknownst to the world, Serena was actually several weeks pregnant at the time. So it’s safe to say Olympia has been destined for greatness since the womb—and Serena has been bound to be one inspiring mama.