"Who's punching me in the face in the locker room?" - Serena Williams bemused after Gabby Thomas reveals fight incident

Serena Williams has reacted to Gabby Thomas’ story about the track-and-field star being punched in the face in the weight room by a training partner.

Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles and has multiple records to her name. She and her sister Venus Williams redefined women's tennis and inspired the next generation of athletes. The former retired from professional tennis in 2022, but her older sibling has not yet called off her career.

The sisters launched a podcast on X Originals titled Stockton Street, a tribute to the place where they grew up. In a recent episode, they invited three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas, who shared an anecdote about being punched in the face by her training partner.

She further emphasized that the entire act was caught on a security camera. The incident left the Williams sisters in splits, and when Thomas asked Serena Williams whether she had ever been smacked, the latter declined, wondering who would have dared to punch her in the face.

"You think someone would punch me in the face. True. True. Who's punching me in the face in the locker room? Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I dare you. Yeah, I dare you." (20:00)

Gabby Thomas was an integral part of Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian-hosted Athlos NYC in 2024 and 2025.

Serena Williams once shared that she dreamt of becoming a gymnast

Williams at the 2025 Athlos NYC - Source: Getty

Serena Williams is one of the most decorated tennis players of all time. However, when she was young, she kept gymnastics as her backup and was always ready to make the switch if tennis didn't work out. But her father, Richard, strictly asked her not to bring up the thought anymore.

"I desperately wanted to be a gymnast. One day my dad was like, 'What would you do if it doesn't work out in tennis?' I would say, 'I want to be a gymnast'. One day my dad took me aside and he's like, 'You can't say that anymore'. I was also like 10 years old. When I tell you I was devastated, my heart sank, and I felt like, 'You crushed my dreams of being a gymnast!'" she said on the Nothing Major podcast.

Williams has been a prominent investor and businesswoman since her retirement. She also balances motherhood alongside her career, spending time with her daughters, Olympia and Adira.