‘Famous or Not, You’re Still A…’: Paris Restaurant Responds to Serena Williams After Coming Under Attack for Denying Tennis Star and Her Kids Entry

Serena Williams was described as “unrecognizable” by a staff member of a five-star hotel in Paris after the tennis player claimed she and her children were turned away from a rooftop restaurant.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion vented her frustration on social media on Monday, openly criticizing The Peninsula Hotel’s treatment of her and describing how her vacation proceeded.

She posted a picture of the hotel and commented, saying, “Yikes. @peninsulaparis.” Nicer restaurants have denied me access to their rooftops to eat, but never with my kids. Always start out first. In response, the hotel wrote on X that the only empty tables she observed belonged to their fine dining establishment, L’Oiseau Blanc, which they said was completely booked.

Maxime Mannevy, a coworker of Williams’s who was working at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, claimed that Williams appeared to be “unrecognizable.”