Serena Williams Shares How Pregnancy Is Making Her ‘A Real Woman’

Serena Williams may have the strength and endurance of a man when she plays on the tennis court, but her pregnancy is reminding her of her feminine side.

Williams got candid in an interview with Australian magazine Stellar. The No. 1 female tennis player in the world admitted that she has high regard to women who gave birth and she is about to be one of them.

“I have so much respect for so many women [for giving birth],” Williams said (via Entertainment Tonight). “I am about to be a real woman now, you know? It’s going to be something incredibly impressive to go through.”

READ: Serena Williams talks about how she met her baby daddy, Alex Ohanian

While Williams is getting near to her due date, the athlete admitted that she tried to watch videos of women giving birth. But it didn’t help her. “I don’t think watching birthing videos helps. I actually think it makes it worse. Having a baby, nothing is guaranteed,” Williams said. “That’s the scariest thing. [But] I think [giving birth] will give me more strength if that’s possible, and a lot more confidence. I feel like I will be ready for anything.”

Aside from preparing for labor, Williams admitted that she has never been around babies. She admitted that she needed Baby 101 class. However, the class is for expectant dads only. So, her fiancé, Alex Ohanian, might know more than her when their baby arrives as he is attending the class.

Ohanian has been preparing himself for daddy duties. In fact, the Reddit co-founder shared the favorite parenting tip he received online. According to the soon-to-be-dad, he loved the idea of sleeping in a blanket for a month before the due date so that it would absorb his scent. On the delivery day, the blanket will be wrapped around the baby to give the child a bit of dad.

Williams and Ohanian both excel in their careers. However, when it comes to their baby, they will not put pressure on whatever he or she wants. “Whatever they want to do, they can do,” Williams said (via ET). “If they want to be a piano player, I’m here to support them. I’m not going to say, ‘You have to play tennis.’ I wouldn’t even put a tennis racket in their hand. That may be a little bit of pressure. What they want to do is up to them.”

In other news, Williams celebrated her baby shower on Saturday with a 50s theme. In her Instagram post among the guests were her sister Venus, Eva Longoria, Ciara and Kelly Rowland.

Rumors have it that Williams is expecting a baby girl. The tennis superstar is due in September.