Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, was forced to evacuate her Berlin hotel at 3am with her two young children, Olympia and Aidra, after a fire alarm disrupted the 2026 Berlin Tennis Open. The incident occurred days before her scheduled return to Wimbledon.
Late-Night Alarm Disrupts Tournament
The alarm sounded in the early hours, prompting numerous high-profile tennis stars and guests to leave their rooms and gather outside. Among those evacuated were Coco Gauff, Alex Eala, Eva Lys, and singer Doja Cat, who was on tour. Williams brought her daughters, aged approximately two and five, down to the street.
Rennae Stubbs, Williams' swing coach, recounted the event on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. Stubbs revealed that she initially stayed in her room, texting the team to ask if the hotel was on fire before eventually descending eight floors in her robe and slippers.
Stubbs Describes Scene Outside Hotel
Stubbs praised Williams' composure. "Everyone was standing out there. Not only were Serena and her two kids... Can you imagine waking up your two-year-old in the middle of the night at 3-4 in the morning?" she said. "Good for Adira. She was like, 'What's going on?'"
Stubbs added: "You've got Serena Williams on one side, Doja Cat on the other. You've got all of us standing around. We were out there for a good 20-25 minutes."
Eva Lys shared an Instagram story at 3:46am showing Gauff and Eala in pyjamas, captioned: "3am fire alarm fit check." Stubbs noted this was the second consecutive week she had experienced a hotel fire alarm, the previous being in London.
Williams' Tournament Performance and Wimbledon Plans
Williams had already exited the Berlin Open in the first round of doubles with Karolina Muchova, losing to Erin Routliffe and Giuliana Olmos in straight sets. She is next scheduled to compete at Wimbledon, where she secured a doubles wildcard entry with her sister, Venus Williams.
