Serena Williams: Opening More Than Tennis Doors

Opening Doors

I’ve been a tennis fan since I was a little girl. Back then Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf were the headliners. At that time I thought tennis was only for rich white people. Then along came Venus and Serena, and opened the doors of the tennis court giving hope to every little brown skin girl.

Not just that they too could open the tennis doors, but any door they wanted to. Today Serena is still opening doors and defying naysayers on and off the court.

More than Tennis

Recently, I had the opportunity to listen to Serena speak at her pop up store at Neighborhood Goods in Dallas. You see, she’ll be the first to tell you that she is more than a tennis player. In fact her Instagram declares she is Olympia’s mom, her greatest feat. I’ll have to confess I was selfishly upset when I first heard Serena was pregnant. I had to cancel my plans for the US Open and I started praying in earnest that she wouldn’t retire. (True story). Needless to say my airline ticket for her return to the US Open was purchased in January! Yes I had faith she would be there in September and she was.

Beyond being Olympia’s mom and the greatest tennis player ever she is opening more doors — she is a designer. An excellent one too as she just launched her GREAT line. I love the concept of the line as it erases the notion of plus sizes and the assumed negative stigma the world of fashion may place on it. Her pieces are extremely functional and can be dressed up or down —- perfect for the jock in heels. The best part of her clothes however are the message they relay to us as women that we are strong, can do whatever we set our minds to do and we need to keep pushing to open doors to “be seen and be heard”.

I’ve picked out my favorite pieces from her line perfect for a Christmas gift.