A tennis dress fit for a champion.
Serena Williams won her first match of the 2022 US Open on Monday night, beating Danka Kovinic in a custom Nike outfit that was imbued with a sense of taking “hands-on approach” to design.
“Inspired by figure skating competition wear,” according to the Nike press release, the look features “a six-layer skirt, referencing Serena’s six previous Flushing titles.”
The jet-black, crystal-encrusted bodice “refers to the night sky during the tournament,” as does the matching cape-style jacket Williams wore to take her place on the pitch.
But the 23-time Grand Slam winner’s dress wasn’t the only element of her look that sparkled.
Williams, 40, also wore custom PE NikeCourt Flare 2 sneakers with a diamond-studded Swoosh, her medial side initials, and solid gold lace deubrés (decorative shoelace labels) made by the athlete’s own brand Serena Williams Jewelry.
The deubrés “contain 400 hand-set diamonds in black ceramics” that spell “Queen”.
“For her latest outfit for Flushing, Serena took matters into her own hands, taking care of the full view and choosing the details for an exciting design that was made to make her feel comfortable and confident,” the statement reads from Nike.
Williams’ 4-year-old daughter, Olympia Ohanian, even matched her mom from the sidelines in a mini version of her look, along with beaded braids, just like the one the tennis champion wore to her first US Open in 1997, when she was just 16 years old.
Then Williams – who announced her retirement from tennis earlier this month in Vogue and will retire from the sport after the Open – will face Anett Koveneit on Wednesday.
We can’t wait to see what she wears for round two.