Williams texted, suggesting Ohanian join her in France so that he could see her at her best. Ohanian accepted, largely because he thought that it wasn’t a real request at all.
“Even if she blows me off and we don’t even hang out, I’m still going to have an amazing time in Paris, and I’ll have an even better story for all my childhood friends,” he explained of his reasoning to Vanity Fair, “when I was like, ‘Yeah, I went to Paris for a weekend. I was supposed to meet up with Serena Williams, she blew me off, but I’ve got other friends there, and we had a great time.'”
Which, he did. Because Williams certainly did not blow him off, the pair enjoying their first date post-match, spending six hours wandering the streets of Paris, buying candies from La Ménagerie in the Jardin des Plantes and walking past some of the most famous tourist sites in the world. Casual.
While few would think to pair a world-class athlete and a tech giant, the two simply work, Williams’ more passionate nature providing the perfect complement to Ohanian’s steady calm. Both equally committed to being the best at what they do, they’ve schooled themselves on each other’s interests. Williams now sits on the board of Silicon Valley-based SurveyMonkey while Ohanian has transformed himself into tennis’ most ardent fan.
