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Why Serena Williams loves her post-baby body

Serena Williams is known for her athletic figure, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t able to appreciate her body after the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia.

The 37-year-old tennis champion has said she enjoyed the feeling of having a larger stomach after Olympia was born, because it reminded her where her baby had been growing.

“After I came out [of the hospital], I had a stomach, but I thought, ‘This is kind of cool. I have a stomach because the baby was there,'” she said to Allure magazine.

Serena thought it was “cool” that she had a large stomach following the birth of her daughter Alexis. Photo: Serena Williams/Instagram
Serena thought it was “cool” that she had a large stomach following the birth of her daughter Alexis. Photo: Serena Williams/Instagram

But the sporting superstar “worked hard” to get to the level of fitness required by professional athletes, and admitted it hasn’t been “easy”.

“I worked hard at it in the past eight months to get back from the baby. It hasn’t been easy. I’m not 21 anymore. But I did it slow and steady,” she added.

Serena’s love and appreciation of her body is something she wants to teach her daughter, whom she has with husband Alexis Ohanian, as she says she wants her tot to realise “being strong is never easy”, but that it’s important to be “beautiful from the inside”.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion said: “I want her to know that being strong is never easy. Not in this world we are living in. … Standing up for yourself is not going to be easy, but it’s always eventually respected. Those are the people who’ve made a difference in this world, people that stand up for what’s right.

“When I tell [Olympia] she’s beautiful, I want to teach her that she’s beautiful from the inside. Giving is beauty. Being kind and humble is the ultimate beauty.'”

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