As tennis legend Serena Williams celebrates her 43rd birthday today, there's more to her legacy than just her dominance on the court. Known as one of the most stylish athletes of the century, Serena has made waves both in sports and fashion. With tennis-core trends taking over social media, it's the perfect time to dive into the archives and revisit her most iconic on-court fashion moments that have left a lasting impact on the world of style.
Since she turned professional in 1995, Serena's outfits have been all about self-presentation — expressing her personality beyond the sport and smashing barriers of race, age and background. Everything she wore was carefully honed by a series of stylists and sporting equipment experts, giving the world some of the most celebrated sports fits to this date. The beginning Serena was ahead of her time when it came to blending fashion with tennis.
Long before accessorising on the court became a trend, she was already making a statement by coordinating her braids with her outfits. At the 1998 Lipton Championships in Florida, Serena added her own flair to her ensemble by sporting vibrant, multi-coloured braids and bold jewellery. The following year, at the 1999 Lipton Championships, she continued this trend.
After a few years of playing professionally, Serena's experiments with her ensembles went beyond just adding an accessory. At the get-go, her interest in dressing up was simply because she enjoyed dressing up (she attended the Art Instit.