--- 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: 2026-04-13T07:50:58.429Z 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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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Feb 27, 2018 4:42 PM UTC  Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams attend the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by J. Kempin/Getty Images) Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams attend the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by J. Kempin/Getty Images) J. Kempin—Getty Images 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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5177565/alexis-ohanian-serena-williams-billboards/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5177565/alexis-ohanian-serena-williams-billboards/"},"headline":"Alexis Ohanian Goes to Great Lengths to Cheer on Serena Williams With Four Emotional Billboards","datePublished":"2018-02-27T16:42:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:50:58.429Z","description":"Ohanian just cemented his title as husband of the year","url":"https://time.com/5177565/alexis-ohanian-serena-williams-billboards/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","celebrities","serena williams","Sports"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0aadf633dab80dce/69892904fb4eacd54a895d5d/gettyimages-677962244.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0aadf633dab80dce/69892904fb4eacd54a895d5d/gettyimages-677962244.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between\" Costume Institute Gala","caption":"\"Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between\" Costume Institute Gala","creditText":"J. 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