--- title: Alexis Ohanian Cheers on Serena Williams With 4 Billboards description: Alexis Ohanian proves he is Serena Williams’s number one fan—and husband of the year canonical: https://time.com/5177565/alexis-ohanian-serena-williams-billboards/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-27T16:42:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:00:40.388Z og:title: Alexis Ohanian Cheers on Serena Williams With 4 Billboards og:description: Ohanian just cemented his title as husband of the year og:url: https://time.com/5177565/alexis-ohanian-serena-williams-billboards/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0aadf633dab80dce/69892904fb4eacd54a895d5d/gettyimages-677962244.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4928 og:image:height: 2772 og:image:alt: "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Costume Institute Gala og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Alexis Ohanian Cheers on Serena Williams With 4 Billboards twitter:description: Ohanian just cemented his title as husband of the year twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0aadf633dab80dce/69892904fb4eacd54a895d5d/gettyimages-677962244.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Alexis Ohanian Goes to Great Lengths to Cheer on Serena Williams With Four Emotional Billboards > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8bcb518f-8fca-4fcd-a62d-bc98b3ac6fe5&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: FIRSTS Serena Williams [Watch (HLS stream): FIRSTS Serena Williams](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qRrT89Xb.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2017-09-02. Serena Williams is the FIRST tennis player to win 23 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era._ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Feb 27, 2018 4:42 PM UTC Serena Williams is the FIRST tennis player to win 23 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Feb 27, 2018 4:42 PM UTC Alexis Ohanian surprised his wife, Serena Williams, with four billboards outside Indian Wells, California. It’s unclear whether Ohanian was inspired by the film [_Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri_](http://time.com/5016723/three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri-review/) or if he just wanted to make sure that Williams couldn’t miss the message on her way to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, where she is scheduled to take part in the 2018 BNP Paribas Open. Either way, the billboards made a big splash. The billboard featured adorable photos of both Williams and the couple’s five-month-old daughter, Alexis Jr., alongside the acronym G.M.O.A.T. (Greatest Momma of All Time). > [](https://twitter.com/alexisohanian/status/968508476770041856) The billboards were the perfect way to welcome Williams back to [tournament play](http://time.com/5089146/serena-williams-australian-open-out/?iid=sr-link6) next month, where she will return to the tennis circuit for the first time since [giving birth](http://time.com/4925755/serena-williams-gave-birth-venus-excited/?iid=sr-link5) to her daughter. Ohanian couldn’t have picked a better venue for his grand display. Williams [boycotted Indian Wells for 13 years](http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/02/serena-williams-end-indian-wells-boycott-14-years-after-racist-incident) following a racist incident in 2001\. She ended her boycott in 2015, explaining her decision in [ an op-ed for _TIME_](http://time.com/3694659/serena-williams-indian-wells/). Whether Williams wins or loses at Indian Wells, it’s clear that she has already won when it comes to having a supportive family. ## Transcript People will look at you and they'll try and define you. Whether you're a woman, whether you're young, they'll try and cabin off what you're able to do. But people can only do that if you let them and so I always viewed my job as defining myself >> If we are in a meeting we're there for a reason, not to just sit there and absorb. If you are only there not speaking you kind of create the impression that you're not prepared to be there. You need to participate and you need to know what you're talking about. You can ask a man to do a job that he's never been qualified to do and he will raise his hand and say, absolutely, I will do that job. Women always say, I'm not sure if I'm ready yet, More experience. I don't necessarily know if there's anything wrong with being more cautious and careful. I mean why have we come to decide that being brash and overly aggressive should be the way we are. But we should also know that we're not going to feel any wiser or any more ready in ten years than we did ten years ago. So we might as well just leave. There is a lot of perception of, My gosh, it's really hard because of the gender. What are you gonna do about that, just not do it? If you want to do something, you just do it, and then hope that people catch up to you. For girls that are going to be playing little league, anything could happen. You could be up by 10 runs, and you can loose the game. So stay focused, make sure you play as a team, and hopefully you hit a home run, because no girl has ever hit a home run, and I'll be cheering for you. You'll never make everyone happy, so you just have to be exactly who it is that you are, and at least know that you've been true to yourself. It's about attitude, aptitude, and opportunity. Who knew I would be here? But it all started with folks that thought I had a good attitude. That put me in places that challenged me and then provided me opportunities because I met and exceeded the standard. You often don't realize, people want you to succeed, and they often have very good solutions, both practical and in terms of thinking of opportunities for you. And the other thing is, I think it's not too bad Periods of great intensity doing one thing or the other. Meryl Streep once said, " Every successful woman's life has its ebbs and flows ." Know your power, know the power of your intellect, of your values and commitment, the courage that you have, and don't let anybody trivialize How you have spent your years. All of them have contributed to making a very unique and special person. Just take joy, don't let anyone discourage you from that thing that you love the most. It's more about making life. 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