Serena Williams engaged to Alexis Ohanian

The couple, Serena and Ohanian

Serena Williams is engaged to be married.

The tennis star revealed on Thursday that her boyfriend of almost two years, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, popped the question after whisking her away on a surprise trip to Rome.

Williams, 35, shared the news on Reddit by posting a poem, writing: 'At the same table we first met by chance / This time he made it not by chance / But by choice / Down on one knee / He said 4 words / And I said yes.'

Ohanian, 33, later posted Williams' poem to his Facebook account, writing: 'She said yes.'

He also commented on her poem on Reddit, writing: 'And you made me the happiest man on the planet.' 

Williams revealed in her poem that she came home to find her bags packed and ready to go for the surprise trip that Ohanian had planned for them.

'Someone had a bag packed for me / And a carriage awaited / Destination: Rome / To escort me to my very own "charming" / Back to where our stars first collided,' wrote Williams. 

She also included a graphic that showed her dressed in her tennis gear and floating on air as Ohanian presented her with a large diamond. 

Williams, who is notoriously private about her personal life, has never spoken about her relationship with Ohanian in the press.

The news that the pair met in Rome suggests however that they first met in May of 2015, as Williams plays the clay court tournament in the Italian city every year ahead of the French Open.

Williams and Ohanian were first spotted together at dinner in San Francisco back in November of 2015 thanks to surveillance video that was later released by the restaurant.

During that date, a man stole Williams phone off the table and then rushed out of the restaurant.

Once Williams noticed what had happened she quickly got up, made her way through the crowd, and caught up with the man outside. 

In the end, the man sheepishly returned the device and Williams returned to her meal.  

Over the past year, Ohanian has become Williams' biggest cheerleader on social media, documenting her accomplishments both on and off the court.

This past May he posted a photo of Williams playing in Rome, a tournament she would go on to win, writing: 'A year ago today, I became a tennis fan. One of the best decisions I ever made.'

Two months later, he documented Williams historic win at the All England Club, writing: 'Our queen stopped by center court today. �� So proud of you, @serenawilliams. 22 looks good on you. #Wimbledon.'

He then posted again later that same day when Williams and her sister Venus captured their sixth Wimbledon title in Ladies Doubles, writing:  'It was a good day. ���� These two are ready for Rio. #wimbledon.'

Ohanian also took his mother to sit in Williams' box during the tournament.

In September, when Williams broke yet another record at the US Open, Ohanian posted a photo and wrote: '308th career Grand Slam match win for the greatest, @serenawilliams - taking time out for her fans on her way to 309 and many more.'

And a few days after her devastating loss in that tournament he sat front row at her fashion show, snapping a pic as she took her final bow after the collection.

'Congrats on a great show @serenawilliams - so proud of you. Well on your way to dominating another industry. #NYFW #blurry,' wrote Ohanian. 

Source: Daily Mail(UK)