Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Is Mistakenly Called Her ‘Umbrella Holder’ at Olympics Opening Ceremony
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Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Is Mistakenly Called Her ‘Umbrella Holder’ at Olympics Opening Ceremony
Eurosport commentator Laura Woods didn’t realize the umbrella holder in question was actually the tennis champ’s husband
By Julie Mazziotta Published on July 27, 2024 09:00AM EDT
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Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian and their daughter Olympia attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at the Trocadero on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France.
Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian and their daughter Olympia.
Alexis Ohanian has multiple titles — Serena Williams’ husband, Olympia and Adira’s dad, founder of Reddit. And now he can add a new one: Serena Williams’ “umbrella holder”!
As the couple, along with Olympia, 6, walked along the red carpet at the opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ohanian dutifully stood behind his wife carrying an umbrella to protect Williams from the pouring rain.
As he walked behind her, a commentator for Eurosport deemed Ohanian her “umbrella holder,” not realizing he was Williams’ husband.
“She [Serena] looks absolutely incredible. She’s got someone just behind us holding an umbrella,” commentator Laura Woods said.
“Those are the levels you aspire to. To have an actual umbrella holder behind you.”
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Woods’s mix-up led to hilarious reactions on X, including from Ohanian — who happily reposted one post about the incident from the Tennis Letter.
“TV commentator: ‘Serena Williams even has her own personal umbrella holder’. FYI… the ‘umbrella holder’ ’is Alexis Ohanian, her husband. He’s one of the founders of Reddit. 💀” the Tennis Letter wrote.
Serena Williams arriving at the Trocadero ahead of the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Serena Williams. CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/PA IMAGES VIA GETTY
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Williams and Ohanian were just a few of the A-List celebrities who came out in droves to Paris for the opening ceremony. Along with the couple, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend (plus their two oldest children) all took in the spectacle near the Eiffel Tower.
Williams also had a special role in the event — she, alongside fellow tennis star Rafael Nadal, American track and field legend Carl Lewis and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci, were a few of the final people to carry the Olympic torch to the cauldron by the Louvre.
The Olympic torch is being taken down the Seine in a boat with (L-R) Carl Lewis, Rafael Nadal, Nadia Comaneci and Serena Williams during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
(L-R) Carl Lewis, Rafael Nadal, Nadia Comaneci and Serena Williams carry the Olympic torch down the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. YOAN VALAT/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK
The four athletes took the torch from the Trocadero and boarded a speedboat that whisked them down the Seine river in the pouring rain. Once they reached a dock just outside the Louvre, French former tennis player Amélie Mauresmo ran the torch up to basketball star Tony Parker, who finished out the torch’s journey alongside dozens of former Olympians, including 100-year-old Charles Coste, the oldest living French Olympic champion.
French judoka Teddy Riner and track and field sprinter Marie-José Pérec ultimately did the honors, lighting a hot-air balloon-inspired cauldron in the Jardin des Tuileries.
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. And sign up for Going for Gold, our Olympics newsletter, to get the biggest stories from the Games delivered straight to your inbox. Watch the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, beginning July 26, on NBC and Peacock.
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