Serena Williams was left disgruntled after being denied access at Paris restaurant. Picture: Supplied / Bang Showbiz
Serena Williams posted on X that she was "denied access" to a rooftop restaurant during the Paris Olympics.
The 42-year-old retired tennis ace was left a disgruntled customer when she could not have a meal at the Michelin-starred The Peninsula, L’Oiseau Blanc in the French capital amid the summer games.
Taking to X, she wrote: “Yikes @peninsulaparis. I’ve been denied access to a rooftop to eat in an empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids. Always a first.”
The restaurant insists it was "fully booked" and has offered its "deepest apologies" to the sports star.
Responding on their own page on the social media app, The Peninsula wrote: “Dear Mrs Williams. Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight. Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved.”
Many supporters commented on her post to state that the restaurant could have made room for her.
One user wrote: “Who doesn’t make room for a queen?”
Another penned: “You can buy the whole damn place.”
Meanwhile, Serena also recently revealed she was inspired to achieve success after being "ghosted" by a man.
The champion was ranked world No.1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 319 weeks and is the only player to accomplish a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles, but admitted that her motivation all came from an early relationship that suddenly broke down without warning.
Speaking in her new ESPN docuseries 'In the Arena', she explained: "It was the first relationship that I had ever had, but I was in my 20s, so you know, whatever … and then he ghosts me, I got ghosted.“
She added: “And it wasn’t even that serious, but it was like I used that and I made it way more serious than what it was. So, when he ghosted me, I used that as an opportunity to say, ‘He’s gonna regret this for the rest of his life.’ That was just the motivation I needed, just the excuse I used to go the extra mile.”
Williams, who is now married to Alexis Ohanian and has Olympia, 6, and Adira, 12 months, with him - retired from the tennis court in 2022.
She admitted that she wanted to make sure that the person who abandoned her would "never forget" her as she cemented her rise to global fame.