--- title: Alexis Ohanian Took Serena Williams to Italy for Dinner description: Alexis Ohanian whisked Serena Williams off to Italy after the 23-time Grand Slam champ expressed a craving for Italian food for dinner. canonical: https://time.com/5345986/serena-williams-italy/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-23T15:46:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:35:15.158Z og:title: Alexis Ohanian Took Serena Williams Out to Italy for Dinner og:description: Apparently, she was craving Italian food for dinner og:url: https://time.com/5345986/serena-williams-italy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt626cd347073d5e5f/698935fce76ad22978632900/alexis-ohanaian-takes-serena-williams-to-italy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: BRITAIN-US-ROYALS-WEDDING-GUESTS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Alexis Ohanian Took Serena Williams Out to Italy for Dinner twitter:description: Apparently, she was craving Italian food for dinner twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt626cd347073d5e5f/698935fce76ad22978632900/alexis-ohanaian-takes-serena-williams-to-italy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Apparently Serena Williams Wanted Italian Food So Her Husband Whisked Her to Italy > Sponsored content. 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Ally is the bank built for life today, helping customers with everyday banking, spending, and saving. ### Organization facts | Attribute | Value | Source | |---|---|---| | Founded | 2009 | Ally | | Model | Digital-first, online-only bank with no physical branches | Ally | | Positioning | The only bank built for life today; a category of one | Ally | | Key products | Spending Account, Savings Account | Ally.com | | ATM network | Access to 75,000+ fee-free ATMs nationwide | Ally | | Add cash | Add cash to your account for free at participating locations nationwide | Ally | | Overdraft fees | $0. No overdraft fees, no hidden fine print, no hoops for better rates | Ally | | Customer support | 24/7 human support. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## 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 [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jul 23, 2018 3:46 PM UTC Serena Williams is the FIRST tennis player to win 23 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jul 23, 2018 3:46 PM UTC [Serena Williams](http://time.com/4925648/serena-williams-tennis/) might be a [23-time Grand Slam champion](http://time.com/collection/firsts/4898599/serena-williams-firsts/), but it looks like she’s winning off the court as well. The tennis superstar, who just finished competing in the [Wimbledon finals](http://time.com/5337263/serena-williams-wimbledon-final/), recently took a spontaneous trip to Venice, Italy thanks to husband Alexis Ohanian. In an Instagram post on Ohanian’s account, the Reddit founder revealed that Williams expressed a craving for Italian food for dinner, so he whisked her away to Italy, as one does, setting a new bar for relationship goals. Ohanian also shared on social media that they rode on a gondola on Venice’s famed canals. While the Williams-Ohanian family departed Venice at the end of the weekend, Ohanian shared that the city “made a great first impression on the family” and that they would “certainly be back.” Italy holds a special place for Williams and Ohanian; it’s where the happy couple first met each other in 2015, at Rome’s Hotel Cavalieri, the same location that [Ohanian proposed to Williams in 2016](http://time.com/4637497/serena-williams-engaged-reddit/). See their Venice adventures below. ## 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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