According to The New York Times, through fashion, Williams has broken down barriers related to race, age, background, and the old dress codes of tennis. Her outfits express a part of who she is: decisive, strong, confident, and constantly loving herself. Fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson told Vogue, “Itâs no accident that her outfit has a stripe here, neon color there. Everything is carefully calculated to convey a message: women deserve to be admired.” John Hoke, Nikeâs design director who has worked closely with Williams for nearly 20 years, remarked that if he were to score her style, he would give her a perfect score.
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Originally a sport for the elite, tennis has traditional rules and standards about attire. Wimbledon requires players to wear white, while the Australian Open allows only one logo on the sleeves, and any patterns on hats must be “representative of tennis.” The US Open and Roland Garros also have their own specific regulations. But Williams has always found ways to experiment with shapes and colors, making her clothes more than just sportswearâthey are a fashion statement.
Since turning professional in 1995, the African American athlete has consistently used clothing as a weapon. Her outfits are thoughtfully designed and carefully prepared, considered a vital part of her career. In the early days, she simply expressed her love for fashion with denim materials, studs, snake patterns, and mesh. Gradually, she used her outfits to call out injustice and inequality in society.
At the 2018 Roland Garros, despite rules prohibiting tight-fitting clothes like bodysuits, Williams stepped onto the court wearing a black catsuit inspired by the female warriors of Wakandaâthe kingdom in the film Black Panther. Bernard Giudicelli, president of the French Tennis Federation, angrily told Tennis magazine, “Sometimes we are too lenient and let things go too far, like in Serenaâs case. That kind of outfit will no longer be accepted. We need to respect other players and especially the audience.”
However, fans strongly supported Serena when she revealed that she wore the bodysuit to improve blood circulation. Previously, she had faced a life-threatening situation caused by blood clots after giving birth to her first daughter in September 2017.
A year later, returning to the tournament, Williams chose a black-and-white crop top and tennis skirt combined with a trapeze jacket. The words on her shirt were French, meaning “mother,” “champion,” “queen,” and “goddess.” Serena collaborated with designer Virgil Abloh on the outfit and explained, “Those words mean a lot to me. I want to remind women that they deserve respect whether they are champions, queens, or ordinary mothers.” After childbirth, Williams went through a difficult period balancing motherhood with maintaining her performance and achievements.
At the start of her quest for a 24th Grand Slam title in the first round of the 2021 Australian Open, the American tennis star continued to showcase her fashion sense with an asymmetrical catsuit. According to Sun Sport, the outfit was inspired by Florence Griffith-Joyner, one of the greatest female sprint athletes in history.
Williams has had a natural affinity for fashion since she was a child. While her father, Richard Williams, guided his children toward sports, her mother, Oracene Price, had a major influence on her love for clothes. Price taught Serena to sew when she was just over two years old. The tennis star once told Vogue, “I often watched my mom lay Vogue magazines on the floor and cut out clothing patterns from them.”
In 1998, Williams and her sister were chosen to appear in a photo shoot for the magazine. She wore a black-and-white dress by Carolina Herrera. Her friendship with Anna Wintourâthe editor-in-chief of Vogue USâbegan to flourish. Wintour called Williams “fearless” for defying all fashion rules. Williams didnât hesitate to wear revealing dresses despite having muscular arms and thighs. For her, it wasnât necessary to wear high heels with evening gowns. Oversized dresses and ruffles were all tried out by the “Queen of Tennis.”
Williams broke some of Vogueâs boundaries, including becoming the first Black female athlete to appear on the magazineâs cover in 2012 alongside soccer player Hope Solo and swimmer Ryan Lochte. She later appeared solo on the cover in 2015, 2018, and 2022. Thanks to her fashionable outfits on the court, Williams became a VIP guest sitting alongside Wintour in front rows at fashion shows in Milan and New York.
In 2019, she was one of the hosts at the Met Gala alongside singers Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, and Gucciâs creative director Alessandro Michele. On the red carpet, she wore a Versace gown paired with custom Nike sneakers. Following in her sister Venusâs footsteps, Williams studied design at the Fort Lauderdale Art Institute and launched her own fashion brand, S by Serena, in 2020. That same year, she founded the Serena Williams Design Group at Nike, creating opportunities for young Black designers. At Paris Fashion Week in March 2021, she walked the runway in a show honoring her close friend and designer Virgil Abloh of Off-White.
Chris Evertâthe dominant womenâs tennis player of the 1970s and 1980sâonce wrote an open letter to Williams in Tennis magazine, suggesting that Williamsâ focus on fashion was distracting from her tennis career. âI appreciate that being a well-rounded person is important to you. However, have you ever considered your place in history? Is that something you care about?â Evert asked.
Williams has never responded. With her contributions to both tennis and fashion, Vogue and The New York Times regard her achievements as truly remarkable.