43-year-old tennis legend Serena Williams took to social network X (Twitter) to accuse the L’Oiseau Blanc restaurant at the Peninsula hotel in Paris of refusing to let her and her children, Alexis Olympia Jr. (7 years old) and Adira River (11 months old), sit at a table in the restaurant even though the space was not full at the time.

Serena Williams posted a sign with the name of the five-star hotel and told her 10.3 million followers: “Oh my gosh! My kids and I were turned away from the rooftop to enjoy a meal at an empty restaurant. This has never happened before, this is the first time I’ve been in this situation, it’s shocking.”

The Peninsula Hotel responded to Serena’s accusations shortly after: “Dear Ms. Williams. Please accept our deepest apologies for the disappointment you experienced tonight. Unfortunately, our rooftop bar was full and the only empty tables you saw were booked. We would always be honored to welcome you and your family back again.”

Maxime Mannevy, a restaurant employee, told Variety that Serena looked unrecognizable when she showed up with a woman and a baby stroller: “When she arrived, there were only two tables available and they were booked by hotel guests. My colleague didn’t recognize her and felt bad, but he told Serena what he would tell any other customer, which is to wait downstairs in the bar until a table becomes available. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.”

Serena Williams arrived in Paris at the end of July, right before the 2024 Olympic opening ceremony – where she had the honor of carrying the torch along with superstars such as track and field athlete who won 9 Olympic gold medals – Carl Lewis, French football legend – Zinedine Zidane, excellent tennis player Rafael Nadal…