Serena Williams parents from the court in first match since the pandemic

Serena Williams just proved to us that all mums have one thing in common, a finely-tuned instinct. During her first match since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the mother of one tuned out the din of the game and made out a single sound that she recognised as her daughter, Olympia. 

Williams was up against Bernada Pera at the Top Seed Open in Kentucky, USA. Olympia was watching her mum from the stands accompanied by her father, Alexis Ohanian. It was in the middle of the match that her motherhood instincts kicked in. 

“I think I heard her cough,” she told reporters after the match. “I know my baby's cough."

“She was eating grapes and then I'm like, 'Oh my gosh is she chewing? Make sure you chew.'” she said as her motherhood instincts took over. “And then I'm thinking, 'Okay Serena, stop looking over there.”

Motherhood gives you a kind of sixth sense. You tend to know when there’s something wrong with your child. And, like most mums, she managed to pass a message to her husband with just a look.

"So I didn't look over there but I kind of flashed my husband a look like make sure she's chewing her grapes -- because she shouldn't be coughing while she's eating grapes."

"That's the new mom in me. It was good to see her, even briefly."

Williams has been very vocal about motherhood admitting that balancing work and looking after her daughter has been challenging.

She beat Pera after struggling to get her head in the game.