Why Serena Williams Won't Personally Teach Daughter Olympia Tennis: 'Don't Have the Patience'

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Serena Williams doesn't plan on playing coach!

In a sneak peek of her Monday appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the 23-time Grand Slam champ said her 4½-year-old daughter Alexis Olympia is "alright" at tennis, but she's hired a private instructor to help perfect her technique.

"I don't push her because I'm like, she's 4," Williams, 40, explained. "She's alright... [But] I've seen 4-year-olds that might take her out."

When Ellen DeGeneres asked whether tennis was Olympia's "ambition" at the moment, the mom joked, "Her ambition is playing princess games."

"The more we can play anything with princesses, that's her whole life," she added.

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Serena Williams on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Serena Williams on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Michael Rozman/Warner Bros. Serena Williams and Ellen DeGeneres

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Williams also confessed that she doesn't "have the patience to teach tennis," which is why she went the route of hiring another pro to do so.

"I don't really like to play with people who don't know how to play tennis well. It drives me nuts. So, I was like, 'I can't. I don't have the patience for this,' " the star said, "So I signed her up for a private teacher."

Though the tennis legend isn't coaching her daughter, the pair have had a slew of adorable mother-daughter moments on the court through the years since Olympia was born in 2017.

Last month, Williams posted a cute clip of herself and her daughter "facing off" across the net. In the Instagram video, Williams prepared for the game before looking across the net to see her challenger. On the opposite end of the court, Olympia — wearing the same outfit as her mom — stood in a strong stance, ready to take on the competition.

Serena Williams
Serena Williams

Serena Williams Instagram

"Sometimes it be ya own mini!" Williams wrote.

Williams has not played tennis professionally since last year at Wimbledon, when she slipped on the court and suffered a right-leg injury during her first-round match against against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. She then withdrew from the competition.

But last month, she appeared to announce that she would be once again playing the world's oldest tennis competition this summer, in a move that would mark her return to the sport.

RELATED VIDEO: Serena Williams and Daughter Olympia Match in Sparkly Red-Carpet Looks for King Richard Premiere

"We've been talking about my comeback, and he's been hyping me up and getting me ready for Wimbledon," Williams told her followers of Aaron Rodgers on her Instagram Story. "Can't wait!"

She went on to clarify to Rodgers, 38, that "Wimbledon's before the U.S. Open" when he asked why she wouldn't be participating in this year's event. "I've got to play Wimbledon first," she said, hinting at an Open return too.

A rep for Williams did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment at the time.