Serena doesn't often speak about her faith, but ahead of her daughter's first birthday, she explained why she wouldn't be throwing a celebration. "We're Jehovah's Witnesses, so we don't do that," she told reporters at a US Open press conference. Serena and Venus converted in the early '80s after their mother Oracene Price did, and though Serena celebrates her achievements on the court, Jehovah's Witnesses refrain from celebrating holidays and birthdays.
Since marrying Alexis, Serena has worked harder to dedicate herself to her faith, though her husband is not religious himself. "Being a Jehovah's Witness is important to me, but I've never really practiced it and have been wanting to get into it," she explained to Vogue in August 2017, later adding, "Alexis didn't grow up going to any church, but he's really receptive and even takes the lead. He puts my needs first."