Serena Williams Wins First Match After Birth of Baby Girl

“I’m a little rusty but it doesn’t matter,” said Serena Williams after a straight-sets victory in her first WTA Tour match back since the birth of her baby girl. The former world No. 1 overcame Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas with a 7-5 6-3 victory in her first match on the Tour since she won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, on Sept. 1 and suffered severe complications afterward. Writing for CNN last month, she said she “almost died” of a pulmonary embolism that blocked arteries in her lungs. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion received a standing ovation when she walked onto the court at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, was watching in the crowd. Speaking after her win over Diyas, Williams said: “It was incredible. It’s been over a year and a kid later. I’m just out here on this journey doing the best I can.”