Alexis Ohanian – a white man, a tech millionaire, has never watched a tennis match in his life. Serena Williams – a black woman, one of the 10 greatest tennis players in history, has no interest in social media.

Two people seem to come from two completely different worlds, seemingly just strangers passing by each other, but love is inherently a strange thing.

Italy and the fateful meeting

One thing that many people often wonder is where they will meet the person they want to be with forever. The cutscenes on the screen often depict accidental encounters, from two people traveling alone to bumping into each other on the street. Or just changing a habit to meet the person you love right away like Serena and Alexis did.

In 2015, Serena was in Rome for the Italian Open. She wasn’t usually a breakfast person, but that day, Serena spontaneously agreed to dine at the Cavalieri Hotel with her colleagues and manager. Buffett had finished five minutes before Serena’s group arrived, so they could only sit by the pool and order.

At the same time, Alexis Ohanian, the founder of social network Reddit, was also staying at the hotel. He was in Italy for the Global Media Conference. The tech millionaire’s concern at the time was finding a place to drink coffee, put on his headphones and focus on work. He happened to sit next to Serena’s table.

This made Serena’s group quite upset.

“Hmm, there are so many empty tables, why is he here?” Serena thought to herself.

And one of the Serana team members decided to play a prank: “Hey buddy, there’s a mouse under the table. Don’t sit there!”

Contrary to expectations, Alexis was quite calm and asked back: “Are there really rats here?”

Only then did Serana honestly say, “No, we just wanted to chase you away. We were planning to use that table.”

“I’m from Brooklyn so I see rats all the time.”

“Oh, so you’re not afraid of mice?”

“Are not!”

As a courtesy, Serena invited Alexis to sit with her. At that time, both of them knew nothing about each other. And perhaps, neither Serena nor Alexis expected that their first conversation about a mouse would be the beginning of their future love story.

The differences

Serena and Alexis didn’t fall in love at first sight, of course.

When chatting with the world’s famous sportswoman, Alexis simply thought: “She is beautiful and charming.”

A five-year relationship had just ended, leaving him unprepared for another relationship. Plus, Alexis was a huge fan of soccer and basketball.

Even though he was sitting in front of the “Queen of Tennis,” his feelings for the sport didn’t increase much. Alexis admitted that he had never watched a real tennis match, not even a quick glance on TV, and he didn’t even have a high opinion of the sport.

Serena, on the other hand, thought Alexis was interested in Jessicaca, another player in the group. And the whole time they were together, Serena only pretended to say a few words about the Reddit page he founded.

Serena’s boyfriend list is also full of famous names, from rappers Common, Drake to legendary coach Patrick Mouratoglou. A handsome, bookish guy who is also a tech geek doesn’t seem to fit her love dictionary.

Most of Serena’s matches are attended by Alexis.

The next time they met was a month later in Paris, Serena invited Alexis to watch her match in the French Open as a friend.

The unplanned thing was that the two of them wandered around together for six hours. And when they passed a candy stall in the Jardin des Plantes, seeing Serena looking excited, Alexis bought her some.

Alexis’s kindness, Serena’s wit and the romantic setting of the French capital make love quietly blossom.

“This is the girl I want to marry”

The dates that followed quickly made Alexis realize Serena was the woman he wanted to marry. For Alexis, Serena helped him become the best version of himself.

He thought he was having a hard time, working 18-hour days and often falling asleep on his laptop. Until he saw Serena practicing before a match. “She works harder than anyone in Silicon Valley,” Alexis said.

According to Vanity Fair, Serena was worried about making too many mistakes in practice, so she decided to spend 3 hours practicing 2,500 more shots, and every time she made a mistake, she would do it again!

“Serena’s thirst for victory and strong will inspired me to strive harder in life to achieve success. And I realized that only when I was with Serena, seeing her standards and way of life, did I suddenly want to become a better person.” This is what Serena did to completely conquer the heart of the millionaire who was one year younger than her.

On December 10, 2016, Alexis decided to propose to Serena at the first place he met her: the Cavalieri Hotel. Alexis had been planning this for months to surprise the woman he loved.

Alexis’ hobby is to always observe his woman everywhere.

Serena was scheduled to attend an exhibition in India, so her manager suggested that Serena stop by on the way back and spend a night at Cavalieri. Unfortunately, the exhibition was suddenly canceled, and there was no reason for Serena to go to Italy. In addition, she started training for the Australian Open, so it was difficult to pretend to suggest a vacation.

How did Serena fly to Rome without suspicion?

Italy and the end of a love story

Compared to the image of tech men, dry and rarely expressing their feelings, Alexis is a completely different version. Or maybe, love makes him always want to do everything, just to make his woman happy, like painstakingly preparing a proposal of a lifetime.

To surprise Serena, Alexis enlisted the help of her team members.

Serena’s assistant secretly packed her bags and someone else fabricated an important meeting to trick her into going to the airport. On the flight to Italy, Serena had a vague idea of the excuse behind it.

But what she didn’t expect was that the man not only got down on one knee and presented a diamond ring like a classic scene in the movies, but also took over the entire pool area. It was even decorated with flowers and on the table there was a small plastic mouse, recalling the memory of the first day they met.

Who can refuse such sincerity?

Although engaged, the wedding is still far off in the plans as Serena is still busy with her playing schedule.

But just a few months later, before playing a match in Australia, the “Queen of Tennis” felt a slight change in her body. She decided to take a pregnancy test but forgot about it until her assistant saw the results. Immediately after that, the first thing Serena did was go out and buy five more pregnancy tests.

Having children was beyond the plans of both of them.

And when Alexis received a call from Serena saying he needed to get to Melbourne earlier than planned, even though he didn’t know the reason, Alexis immediately took the earliest flight, the only thing he could think of was that something was wrong with Serena’s health. When they met, Serena didn’t say a word, just silently handed Alexis a bag containing six pregnancy tests with all of them positive.

This was a shock to both of them. Serena had no intention of putting her tennis career on hold. And Alexis was not ready to become a father.

[Tennis player Serena: “To the mothers, I am fighting for you”]

Change for each other

The reason for breakups, most people involved sadly answer: “We are not compatible.” But in love, compatibility or not is not important, what is important is that we change for each other.

For Alexis and Serena, the field that each is passionate about is a new world for the other. However, Alexis has never forced Serena to choose. Although he did not take tennis seriously before, Alexis still did not miss any match of the woman he loved. In the stands, he cheered enthusiastically like a true fan.

When Serena was pregnant, Alexis also prepared for fatherhood seriously. He bought a jar and put money in it every time he said a dirty word. Alexis tried to change his own bad habits, he wanted his child to grow up in a completely healthy environment.

And the woman who used to practice until she forgot herself like Serena also realized that there are still many things in life to cherish. Alexis’ love made her feel happy not only in the moment of touching the championship trophy but also in the little things. She loved the feeling of having a little creature growing in her belly or sitting on the porch talking to Alexis.

Black Swan Happiness

If we had to describe the wedding of tech millionaire Alexis and tennis queen Serena, there would be nothing but the adjectives “magnificent,” “gorgeous,” “luxurious.” When the bride stepped into the ballroom in a wedding dress worth 3.5 million USD. The banquet table was named after the Grand Slam titles she won in her career. And the space was filled with the sounds of a famous jazz orchestra and the famous band New Edition.

The party was colorfully decorated in the style of the castle in the movie ”Beauty and the Beast”.

At 35, Serena is living her best days. She has a brilliant youth on the court, a newborn daughter and an understanding man by her side. And the story behind the door of the “world’s top tennis player” is still filled with sweet moments that make people jealous.

Alexis once commissioned four billboards to be erected on a California street. One read “GMOAT,” which stood for “Greatest Mother of All Time.” The other three read “Mother,” “Greatest,” and “All Time.” Each featured a picture of Serena Williams and her five-month-old daughter, Alexis Olympia. Rumor has it that when Serena craved Italian food, Alexis would take her there to enjoy her favorite dish.

Perhaps, Alexis is the ideal model that any girl wants to marry. He is handsome, rich and romantic. Many people think that meeting Alexis is Serena’s luck. But most of all, what makes Alexis attracted to Serena is her passion for tennis, rather than her skin color, beauty or figure.

The happy ending to the admirable love story of Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian.

And the American tennis player also has a brilliant career as one of the highest-paid athletes. She is also the face of many brands, has her own place in the fashion industry with an estimated total asset of 150 million USD.

The love story of Alexis and Serena seems too beautiful for a real-life love story. But look at it, to understand that, in love, just knowing how to live for each other will be able to overcome the differences.