Serena Williams has pleaded for help dealing with her new baby’s teething problems, proving even one of the greatest athletes of all time isn’t immune to the everyday trials of motherhood.

Describing herself as “so stressed”, Williams issued the plea to her more than 10m Twitter followers on Monday, saying: “Teething – aka the devil – is so hard.” She lamented in the post that nothing she had tried, including amber beads, cold towels and homeopathic water, was fixing the problem.

The former world number one tennis player gave birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, in September this year and has shared much of her experience of motherhood with her social media followers, who are usually quick to provide advice and support.

Earlier this month she asked her followers for advice on breastfeeding, saying she got emotional thinking about when she would have to stop doing it.

In a video she and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian Sr, released to welcome their daughter in September, Williams said there were “a lot of complications” but did not elaborate.

As well as the hard moments, Williams regularly shares her excitement at being a mother and her love for her daughter.

Williams is currently on a break from professional tennis but is expected to return at the Australian Open in January.