The 23-time Grand Slam winner had previously indicated her plan to take a break from tennis, stating her wish to focus on growing her family following the arrival of her daughter, Olympia, in 2017, as outlined in a Vogue magazine feature last year.

In a TikTоk post on Monday evening, Williams expressed her excitement at being invited to the Met Gala by Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor-in-chief and co-chair of the event, with whom she shares a long-standing friendship. Williams graced the red carpet in a striking black gown with a white skirt, adhering to the gala’s theme of “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” in honor of the late Chanel designer.

At the event, video footage captured Ohanian, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Reddit, gently placing his hand on Williams’ abdomen. With this revelation of her pregnancy, the likelihood of Williams’ comeback to competitive tennis appears increasingly uncertain, raising questions about the future of one of the sport’s most celebrated athletes. Among those present were other prominent sports personalities including tennis legend Roger Federer, basketball standout Brittney Griner, who had recently been released from a Russian penal colony, and Olympic gold medalist skier Eileen Gu from China.