Tennis legend Serena Willams<\/strong><\/a> says she was refused entry to a Paris eatery and proceeded to call out The Peninsula Rooftop on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYikes @peninsulaparis I\u2019ve been denied access to rooftop to eat in an empty restaurant of nicer places but never with my kids. Always a first,\u201d Serena, 42, shared along with the hashtag \u201cOlympic 2024\u201d on Monday, August 5.<\/p>\n Serena shares two daughters \u2013 Olympia, 6, and Adira, 11 months \u2013 with husband Alexis Ohanian<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Peninsula Paris responded to the athlete\u2019s claim with a comment under her post.<\/p>\n \u201cDear Mrs. Williams, Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you encountered tonight,\u201d the eatery began.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, our rooftop bar was indeed fully booked and the only unoccupied tables you saw belonged to our gourmet restaurant, L\u2019Oiseau Blanc, which was fully reserved,\u201d they explained about why she thought they were unable to accommodate her despite open tables.<\/p>\n Fans were stunned that the greatest female tennis player of all time was denied access to a restaurant with her family, despite claims they were booked.<\/p>\n \u201cWho doesn\u2019t make room for a queen?\u201d one person asked, while another wrote, \u201cGlad you didn\u2019t have to waste money there.\u201d<\/p>\n A fan joked that with Serena\u2019s massive fortune<\/a>, \u201cYou can buy the whole damn place,\u201d while another told her she dodged a bullet, writing, \u201cYou\u2019re better off not going, their food is subpar \u2014 I\u2019ve unfortunately had to pay for it quite a few times.\u201d<\/p>\n One person tried to console the star, writing, \u201cSorry that happened to you. They should have been honored to have you,\u201d while another wondered, \u201cHow does THE Serena Williams get denied anywhere?? Especially during the Olympics???\u201d<\/p>\n While Serena retired from competitive tennis in 2022, she won four gold medals during her illustrious career, taking home the hardware as the women\u2019s singles champ at the 2012 London Olympics and winning doubles gold medals with sister Venus Williams<\/strong> at 2000 Sydney games, 2008 Beijing Olympics and London 2012.<\/p>\n The 23-time grand slam champion is such a beloved Olympic icon that she was chosen to help carry the torch on its final leg on a boat down the Seine River at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on July 26. She was joined by fellow tennis great Rafael Nadal<\/strong>, nine-time gold medalist track star Carl Lewis<\/strong> and gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Serena later joked about the emotional yet rainy ride, writing on X, \u201cFrom being part of an amazing Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics to riding in the boat in the rain-and it was pouring! So much so my lashes came right on off.\u201d<\/p>\n The seven-time Wimbledon champ has been taking in plenty of events while in Paris. She was joined by Alexis and Olympia to watch Simone Biles<\/strong> lead Team USA to the women\u2019s team all-around gymnastics gold medal<\/a> on July 30. She also attended the men\u2019s tennis final at Roland Garros on Sunday, August 4, watching Novak Djokovic<\/strong> beat Carlos Alcaraz<\/strong> for the gold medal.<\/p>\n Serena announced she was stepping away from competitive tennis in an August 2022 essay for Vogue<\/em><\/a>. Her final tournament was the U.S. Open<\/a> the following month.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never liked the word retirement. It doesn\u2019t feel like a modern word to me. I\u2019ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people,\u201d she wrote. \u201cMaybe the best word to describe what I\u2019m up to is evolution. I\u2019m here to tell you that I\u2019m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"serena](\"https:\/\/www.lifeandstylemag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/serena-williams-denied-access-to-peninsula-rooftop.jpg?fit=400%2C267&quality=86&strip=all\")
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