Being Serena: TV Schedule and Preview for HBO Documentary

Serena Williams is one of the most dominant tennis players of all time, but nothing prepared the 23-time Grand Slam champion for her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter Alexis Olympia.

Williams' pregnancy will be one of the focal points for HBO's five-part documentary series Being Serena, which begins Wednesday night at 10 p.m. ET.

The series will provide viewers with a comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at not only Williams' pregnancy but also her daughter's birth, her marriage to Alexis Ohanian and her return to the tennis court.

The 36-year-old first revealed her pregnancy in April 2017. At the time, she indicated she was 20 weeks pregnant, which meant she won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant. Serena defeated her sister Venus in the final, and Venus joked in the Being Serena trailer she was at a two-on-one disadvantage.

Williams gave birth to Alexis Olympia last September. In a January interview with Vogue's Rob Haskell, she revealed how her medical issues were only beginning, though.

Shortly after the birth, Williams said she was feeling short of breath, and doctors subsequently found blood clots in her lungs. Her C-section incision opened as a result of constant coughing from the clotting. Upon addressing the wound, doctors found a hematoma in her abdomen.

Williams wrote in a first-person essay for CNN she was "lucky to have survived" the ordeal.

Although Williams came home a week after the pulmonary embolism, she remained bedridden for six weeks to recover.

Eventually, Williams regained her health and married Alexis Ohanian last November. She made her comeback to the WTA as well when she competed in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, in March. Williams advanced to the third round, where she lost to Venus in straight sets.

She then played in the Miami Open and exited in the first round following a defeat to Naomi Osaka. Although Williams has yet to play since that match March 21, her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, told the New York Times' Christopher Clarey that includes the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

Tennis fans have become accustomed to seeing Williams dominate on the tennis court. Never before have they gotten a glimpse of her away from the court like what Being Serena will provide.

The series would be interesting enough and worth watching if it merely followed her during a typical season in the WTA. Instead, it's chronicling one of the most important periods in Williams' life.

Even for fans who haven't followed Williams' legendary career, Being Serena is a must-watch for the way in which it will examine how a star athlete handles a different kind of adversity they're using to facing.