MELBOURNE, Australia -- Serena Williams won her opening match at the Australian Open with such haste that even Qai Qai had to crack a smile.
Who is Qai Qai, you ask?
Well, unless you've had your head buried in the sand, Qai Qai is Serena's daughter's doll, a social media stalwart who has soared in popularity.
Since moving in with the Williams-Ohanian household this past August, Qai Qai, when healthy, has traveled the globe like a rock star, procuring ringside tennis seats along the way. As of Tuesday, Qai Qai has 87,800 Instagram followers and 15,900 Twitter devotees.
This graphic 😂⬇️ pic.twitter.com/38myzagZBi
- D'Arcy Maine (@darcymaine_espn) January 15, 2019
Serena's first-round opponent, Tatjana Maria, must have already been feeling deflated amid a 49-minute 6-0, 6-2 loss against the 23-time Grand Slam champ.
Serena was later pressed with questions about baby doll wonder.
"I wanted her to have a black doll," Serena said of her daughter, Olympia. "Growing up, I didn't have that many opportunities to have black dolls. And I was just thinking, 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."
Just 24 hours earlier, Qai Qai was spotted courtside, perched atop Serena's racket bag as, presumably, the 16th-seeded American was prepping for her opener. The doll also spent time checking out Melbourne's incredible sites.
Qai Qai, who according to Serena on Tuesday was named by her nephew, is a true phenomenon. Qai Qai might not be able to hold court with the record-setting Instagram egg, but she has provided Serena enthusiasts with a new reason to follow her journey onto the tennis court and into her home.