Serena Williams' daughter's doll Qai Qai is the real star of the Australian Open
One of the biggest moods of 2018 was a doll.
But not just any ol' doll – it was Qai Qai, the rather witty and cynical companion of Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., daughter of tennis champion Serena Williams and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
Between engaging in memes and generally pondering life, Qai Qai has embarked upon many an adventure with her human guardian, often sitting courtside at Williams' many matches — all of it posted to the doll's total 106K followers on Instagram and Twitter.
And she's made her most recent splash in Australia, at the Australian Open and Hopman Cup tennis tournaments in January, where the G.O.A.T. has been playing.
When Williams faced off against fellow tennis superstar Roger Federer when Switzerland took on the U.S. in the Hopman Cup mixed doubles in Perth, Qai Qai was there.
Arriving later in Melbourne for the Australian Open, Qai Qai left her hotel to do a little sightseeing:
And getting that sweet sunset #content:
Travel snaps aside, Qai Qai was quickly was back in the game, even jumping behind the camera at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena:
Gearing up:
And cheering on Williams in her show-stopping, badass green romper and fishnet tights, which she donned playing Germany's Tatjana Maria on Tuesday.
After winning the match, Williams talked about Qai Qai to reporters.
“I wanted her to have a black doll,” she said during a press conference. “Growing up, I didn’t have that many opportunities to have black dolls. And I was just thinking, like, I want her first doll to be black. And her heritage, obviously she’s mixed, she’s Caucasian and black, but I feel like that was her first doll and I said her second doll would be Caucasian."
“I definitely want to always teach her love and teach her just basic human — humans should always have love for each other, no matter what colour they are.”
Qai Qai's jubilant posts on tour in Australia signal a shift in mood for the characteristically nihilistic doll — for a full rundown of Qai Qai's evolution, read our feature.
Exactly who runs the doll''s social media accounts has been debated, but Qai Qai's grandad and Reddit founder Ohanian basically admitted to being behind it on Twitter Wednesday, responding to a New York Post article.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Qai Qai wasn't having a bar of it though.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Topics Celebrities
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
