Serena Williams Reveals She Really Wants An Epidural & Her Strong Suspicion That She’s Having A Girl

A heavily pregnant Serena Williams sat down with Vogue Magazine for a chatty and insightful interview recently where she talked about the sex of her unborn child, what being a mother means to her and returning to the teens court after childbirth among other things.

The 35-year-old tennis champion was photographed by Mario Testino and styled by Tonne Goodman for the editorial.

See excerpts from the interview below.

On suspecting she’s having a girl: “Alexis thinks we’re having a boy, but I have a strong suspicion that it’s a girl,” she says. “Two weeks after we found out, I played the Australian Open. I told Alexis it has to be a girl because there I was playing in 100-degree weather, and that baby never gave me any trouble. Ride or die. Women are tough that way.”

On being nervous about childbirth: “I’m nervous about childbirth. I’m not a spring chicken. The one thing I really want is an epidural, which I know a lot of people are against, but I’ve had surgeries galore, and I don’t need to experience any more pain if I can avoid it. But the biggest thing is that I don’t really think I’m a baby person. Not yet. That’s something I have to work on. I’m so used to me-me-me, taking care of my health, my body, my career. I always ask, Am I going to be good enough?” She looks toward Ohanian, who is blending smoothies in the Vitamix. “I know he’ll be great.”

On being perceived as “mean”: “I feel like people think I’m mean. Really tough and really mean and really street. I believe that the other girls in the locker room will say, ‘Serena’s really nice.’ But Maria Sharapova, who might not talk to anybody, might be perceived by the public as nicer. Why is that? Because I’m black and so I look mean? That’s the society we live in. That’s life. They say African-Americans have to be twice as good, especially women. I’m perfectly OK with having to be twice as good.”

On returning to the court after childbirth: “It’s hard to figure out what the end of your tennis career should look like. I used to think I’d want to retire when I have kids, but no. I’m definitely coming back. Walking out there and hearing the crowd, it may seem like nothing. But there’s no better feeling in the world. Obviously, if I have a chance to go out there and catch up with Margaret, I am not going to pass that up. If anything, this pregnancy has given me a new power.”

And she plans to defend her Australian Open title come January: “It’s the most outrageous plan,” she says. “I just want to put that out there. That’s, like, three months after I give birth. I’m not walking anything back, but I’m just saying it’s pretty intense.” At her age and stage, there is always the risk of falling short of her previous heights. “In this game you can go dark fast. If I lose, and I lose again, it’s like, she’s done. Especially since I’m not 20 years old. I’ll tell you this much: I won’t win less. Either I win, or I don’t play.”