Serena Williams Says 'I Am Not Ok Today' in Vulnerable Social Media Post
“There’s always tomorrow," the tennis pro said
Serena Williams is reminding fans that everyone has bad days.
On Tuesday, the 23-time grand slam tennis pro, 42, shared a comforting mental health message on social media after letting her followers know that she wasn’t doing okay.
“I am not ok today,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “And that’s ok to not be ok. No one is ok every single day. If you are not ok today I’m with you.”
“There’s always tomorrow 😘,” she added. “Love you.”
Underneath the post, several of Williams’ followers shared encouraging words and praised her transparency.
“Thank you for being open about your feelings. Your honesty is appreciated. Please, take care of yourself, my champion,” one follower wrote while another said, “Tomorrow is another day. Thank you for being a truly inspirational person.”
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Last year, Williams spoke candidly about her mental health during a conversation with Selena Gomez for the singer's mental health platform, Wondermind.
"Mental fitness for me is just really learn[ing] to shut down," Williams said. "And you know I did this years ago, before even mental health was a topic among everyone's mind."
"It was more just like, alright, I'm shutting myself down today. Just subconsciously, it was something I've always done," she continued. "And so now that I know that it's so important to just put yourself first, especially mentally, I always have shut down moments. I have serious boundaries and I don't let anyone cross those boundaries."
"For me, it's so important to make sure, every day, I have a period of, like ... it's so bad, because I really don't do anything for me, I'm terrible at that! And I've said it time and time again – I'm working on it. But more or less, at least prioritizing what I need to do," added Williams, before concluding, "And then when I'm turned off, I'm turned off."
Williams has often been vocal about her mental health over the years, specifically her struggles after welcoming her daughter Alexis Olympia in 2017.
“Some days, I cry,” she told TIME back in 2018. “I’m really sad. I’ve had meltdowns.”
After her daughter’s birth via emergency cesarean section, the athlete had a near-death experience involving pulmonary embolism — forcing her to spend the next six weeks in bed. She told the outlet that she couldn’t shake a sense of sadness from there and that a struggle with postpartum depression ensued.
“Honestly, sometimes I still think I have to deal with it,” Williams admitted to Harper’s Bazaar UK of her struggle with postpartum depression. “I think people need to talk about it more because it’s almost like the fourth trimester, it’s part of the pregnancy.
“I remember one day, I couldn’t find Olympia’s bottle and I got so upset I started crying … because I wanted to be perfect for her,” she added.
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