From her early days on the WTA Tour, Serena Williams has been a tennis fashion icon. Now that the curtains draw to a close on the legendary career, Nike is celebrating the iconic partnership with a glamorous outfit perfectly fitting for the queen’s final appearance at the US Open.
Now that is an entrance, @serenawilliams.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/vpdNSWcTes
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2022
Dress
Serena’s Nike dress is a sparkly, long-sleeved design inspired by figure skating. A crystal-encrusted bodice was ideal for her Monday’s first-round victory in the sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium under the New York City night sky.
Initially, the skirt featured six layers, as a reference to the tennis legend’s six US Open titles, but it was impractical, so they scaled down to two layers. “I had six layers to represent the six wins, but I took four out because it was too heavy,” Serena told Gayle King after the match.
Serena’s daughter Olympia watched her mom’s match from the stands, wearing a matching glittery dress and iconic white beads in her hair.
Cape
As she entered the court for what could have been her historic last singles match at the US Open, Serena wore a removable cape, a statement sparkly garment that symbolizes the WTA player’s royal status. Additionally, the 23-time Grand Slam champion had a matching shiny jacket to complete her iconic all-black look.
Shoes
Nike teamed up with Serena Williams Jewelry to create sparkly black NikeCourt Flare 2 shoes featuring the jewelry piece “queen” on the laces of the right shoe and the word “mama” on the left laces. The “SW” logo is on the tongue. The Swoosh and sparkly stars on the side are made from Swarovski crystals. “I’ve never worn better shoes for the Open,” Williams said in excitement.
Serena returns to the court on Wednesday, as she’s scheduled to face the tournament’s second seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.
