She was prepared to take on any criticism she might receive for the confession.
Serena Williams needs to step off the court.
The retired tennis champion confessed to needing a quick break from parenting her 7-year-old daughter Olympia, who she shares with husband of seven years Alexis Ohanian.
"I’m in my car…. my Navigator To be exact," Williams wrote in an April 18 message on X (formerly Twitter). "I’ve got the Massage seats on. I’m sadly Hiding from my kid."
The 43-year-old — who also shares 20-month-old daughter Adira with Alexis — had been on mom duty all day since, as she noted, "Today is a holiday and no school."
And she had no regrets about admitting to sneaking away from her little one. In fact, she was prepared to take on any criticism she might receive for the confession.
"Judge away," Williams quipped. "I don’t care I need 10 mins."
Another reason the athlete isn't worried about facing backlash? She's confident in her parenting skills.
“I’m a wonderful mom,” Williams told Vogue in 2022. “I think we, as women, don’t give ourselves credit, but I’m a great mom. I really am. I do everything. I’m freaking the room mom at Olympia’s school this year.”
Of course, that's not to say she doesn't have her off days. In 2023, Williams got candid about her mental health struggles, admitting that she was facing a period where she was "not OK."
"And that’s ok to not be ok," she continued in a post on X at the time. "No one is ok every single day. If you are not ok today I’m with you."
She added, "There’s always tomorrow. Love you."
Luckily, Williams has a strong support system behind her in her husband and her friends, including pal Meghan Markle, who often trades cooking and home-making tips with the tennis player.
“I’m always like, ‘Girl, what are you doing today?’” Williams said of the Duchess of Sussex inside of Time’s 100 Most Influential People issue published April 15. “So we’re trading recipes.”
