Hotel Paris apologizes to Serena Williams after being denied entry

Serena Williams She claimed she and her family were denied access to the rooftop restaurant at the Peninsula Hotel in Paris.

“Ouch @peninsulaparis I’ve been denied access to the rooftop to eat in an empty restaurant or in nicer places 🫠 but never with my kids,” the 42-year-old retired tennis player wrote via X on Monday, August 5. “It’s always a first. 🙄#Olympic2024.”

Following Williams’ tweet, The Peninsula published a response to We Weekly apologizing for the incident.

“In response to Ms. Williams’ tweet, for whom we have the greatest admiration and respect, as we do for all of our esteemed guests, we can only reiterate our sincerest apologies for her perception of the situation tonight,” the statement read. “Today, August 5, our rooftop bar was indeed full, and the only tables unoccupied at that time were at our fine dining restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, which was also full that evening.”

The message continued: “She has always been and always will be more than welcome with her family at The Peninsula.”

Williams is currently in Paris for the 2024 Olympics alongside her husband, Alexis Ohanianand their two daughters Olympia, 6, and Adira, 10 months. Williams took part in the torch relay for the Games’ opening ceremony. The tennis legend was one of the final torchbearers and arrived at the Olympic cauldron alongside Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis And Nadia Comaneci.

At the ceremony, Ohanian, 41, was mistaken by broadcasters for being the man holding Williams’ umbrella.

“She (Serena) is absolutely incredible. She has someone right behind us holding an umbrella,” commentator Laura Woods said on the Eurosport broadcast. “That’s the level you aspire to. To have a real umbrella holder behind you.”

After the commenter’s remarks went viral, the Reddit co-founder took to social media to gloat about his new title.

“Olympia. Serena. Serena’s personal umbrella stand. 😂,” Ohanian joked on Instagram in July, sharing a photo of himself with Williams and Olympia in Paris. “Let the games begin! I’ll be watching a lot of T&F (track and field events) for inspiration from @athlos. 🥇”

Williams is no stranger to the Olympics. She has competed in four Olympic Games in 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2016. At each event, Serena won a gold medal in women’s doubles with her sister Venus Williams. However, Serena said she was excited to see other athletes competing this time around after her retirement in 2022.

“It’s fun! I mean, the Paris Olympics are really, really amazing,” Serena told NBC reporters ahead of the opening ceremony. “I don’t know if it’s fun or if I’m a little jealous. I did the London/Wimbledon combo, but I was a little jealous from here!”