Following a terrible experience at a fine-dining restaurant in Paris, Serena Williams has expressed her disappointment at the institution. Williams claimed she was denied access to the Peninsula Hotel in Paris.
The retired tennis star took to the social media platform X to call out the Peninsula Hotel. Williams wrote, “Yikes, @PeninsulaParis, I’ve been denied access to the rooftop to eat in an empty restaurant of nicer places, but never with my kids. Always a first.” The tweet has had fans wondering what transpired, here’s what we know:
What Happened Between Serena Williams and the Restaurant?
On Monday, August 5, 2024, Serena Williams alleged that one of the restaurant’s staff denied her access to a rooftop table. Although this was not her first time experiencing this, the tennis legend said it had never happened in the presence of her children.
The tennis star, who is in Paris for the 2024 Olympics, went to dinner at the restaurant with her two children. After Williams’ tweet went viral, the restaurant responded to her in an attempt to resolve the issue.
On Monday, August 5, 2024, The Peninsula Hotel wrote, “Dear Mrs. Williams, Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight. Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked, and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved.”
In a subsequent tweet, the restaurant said it has always been honored to host Williams and hopes to do so again. However, neither Williams nor The Peninsula Paris have disclosed more outside of their tweets.
According to Maxime Mannevy, an employee at L’Oiseau Blanc, Williams appeared unusual. Mannevy said that Williams was unrecognizable when she entered the restaurant in the company of another woman and a stroller.
However, Mannevy stated that she was off work when Williams arrived, and it was her colleague who had attended to her. Mannevey said that when Williams arrived, there were only two empty tables on the rooftop.
“However, those tables had been reserved for hotel clients,” Mannevey said, “My colleague didn’t recognize her and felt terrible, but he told her what he would have told any other client, which is to wait downstairs in the bar for a table to become available. That was absolutely nothing personal.”
Serena Williams’ Children
The renowned tennis star has two children, Alexis, also known as Olympia, and Adira. In September 2017, Williams and her husband welcomed their first daughter, Alexis. Subsequently, in August 2023, they welcomed their second daughter, Adira.
When Williams was denied a table at The Peninsula Hotel, she was with her kids, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. and Adira River Ohanian. Williams shares her two children, both girls, with her husband, Alexis Ohanian.
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Williams arrived in Paris with her family and participated in the Olympic opening ceremony. On July 26, 2024, she carried a torch alongside some other athletes during the ceremony.
Serena Williams Net Worth
Since Williams retired from professional tennis in 2022, she has been making several financial moves. According to the tennis star, ever since she retired from playing, she has been more involved in the market.
In March 2024, Williams took to social media to discuss her stock market portfolio and its value. She said that she has shares in a total of 85 companies, of which 14 are unicorns or startups valued at over $1 billion.
In June 2024, Forbes estimated Serena Williams’ net worth to be around $290 million from her tennis career, endorsement deals, investments, and business ventures.
Serena Williams Age
Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan, to Oracene Price and Richard Williams. She is 42 and the youngest of five children with four older sisters.
Serena Williams’ mother, Oracene Price, had three girls, Yetunde, Lyndrea, and Isha Price, from her former marriage to Yusef Rasheed. After remarrying in 1980, she had Venus Williams and Serena Williams with Richard.
When the children were young, the family moved to Compton, California, where the Williams sisters started playing tennis at the age of four.
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Who Is Serena Williams’ husband?
On November 16, 2017, Serena Williams got married to Alexis Ohanian in New Orleans after he proposed on December 10, 2016. Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Kerry Ohanian, is an American internet entrepreneur and investor who was born on April 24, 1983.
Ohanian is better known as the former executive chairman and co-founder of Reddit, alongside Aaron Swartz and Steve Huffman.
He started the social enterprise Breadpig and the travel search website Hipmunk and co-founded the early-stage venture funding firm Initialized Funding. In 2019, Forbes estimated Ohanian’s net worth to be around $70 million.
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