With just a hint of a smile on her lips and the obvious emotion in her eyes shadowed by a bright white baseball cap, by now we’ve probably all seen the viral clip of Venus Williams’s composed reaction to her sister Serena’s tearful tribute to her trailblazing elder sister, just days after she announced her retirement from the international tennis circuit in September.
“I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus, so thank you, Venus. She’s the only reason Serena Williams ever existed,” Serena declared in her final US Open interview on 2 September, her voice breaking as she wiped away self-described ‘happy tears’. In a moment when Serena could have focused purely on her own record-smashing achievements, instead she turned the spotlight on her older sister. There are plenty of reasons to follow her lead.
Serena’s tribute was a fitting finale for this year’s surprising Williams sisters summer – which Venus kicked off in June with her wildcard entry into Wimbledon’s mixed doubles match. Venus’s appearance effortlessly confirmed that when she wants to compete at the highest level, there’s very little she lets stand in her way, thanks to a staggering 28-year career that’s included winning seven Grand Slams, five of which were at Wimbledon.
The Venus I meet on the New York set of the GLAMOUR October cover shoot is less guarded than who we saw courtside for Serena’s speech. A painterly tunic in blue and purple clings to her athletic frame like a moving watercolour, but I can’t take my eyes off her flawless cheekbones, which are framed by a soft cloud of blown-out Afro hair.
“These looks are so me,” she says with a warm smile as she admires the selection of show-stopping looks including pieces from Louis Vuitton, Off-White, Lacoste and Valentino. “Very sporty, but kind of avant-garde, just very individual. And I really, really believe in individuality, especially in this world of ‘group think’ right now – we still have to remember we’re individuals.”.
When it comes to representing a different type of individuality, few women have created a Venus Williams-level global impact. Following her professional debut at 14 years old, it wasn’t just tennis fans who were blown away by the power of her game. Black girls worldwide, including teenage me growing up in Australia, were also inspired to see ourselves mirrored in such a talented, unapologetically African-American girl who was fearless about standing out from the crowd. How did she handle that so well, so young?
“At the time, I didn’t know that I was different and now I realise how very different I was,” Venus recalls today. “But difference is what makes the world beautiful – and I think people really can see that now, in terms of what Serena and I have accomplished in the sport, and how it’s elevated tennis, sport or even the world. So different is the only way to go.”
Venus was the first to bring a new aesthetic to tennis with her now-iconic beaded braids, triggering copycat requests to aunties and braid salons everywhere. Did reactions to her hair surprise her?
“People didn’t necessarily know my culture. So, when people saw we were wearing braids and beads, they may have thought it was unique. But people from my own culture would’ve realised, ‘Oh, wow, this is something that young girls do.’ So, I feel like I’m still educating people about my culture, one at a time; like, this is normal to African-Americans, or people of African descent or with ethnic hair. We often do wear braids and beads, which have very deep meanings from their origins. It’s important for people to know about the cultures of the world.”
“My parents definitely pushed history on us; to know the history of the world and history of African-Americans was super important”
The Williams style influence also extended across vibrant body-con fashion and glamorous beauty to accessorising on court. “My favourite on-court beauty look, definitely for years – I wore a bunch of eyeliner,” she reveals. “Now I’ve moved on to lashes, but I figured it was my suit when I walked on the court and called it the eyeliner club. Serena and I seemed to be the only ones in it, but we were in it to win it. It’s really fun when you walk out knowing you look great, you feel great.”
We’re speaking on the eve of celebrating Black History Month in October in the UK and this year’s theme, Time For Change: Action Not Words, feels well aligned with Venus’s transformative career and obvious pride in her culture. She credits her parents for instilling such confidence in her as well as her four sisters, Serena and Yetunde, Lyndrea and Isha Price (half sisters from their mother’s first marriage.)
“For us, it was always important to know where you are, who you are,” she tells me, “because if you don’t know who you are, you won’t know where you’re going. But most of all, if you don’t know who you are in your history, you’ll have no idea what you need to do to be ready for the world. So, that was so important and my parents definitely pushed history on us; to know the history of the world and history of African-Americans was super important.
"I think, especially in challenges that we face in the world… when you’re different or a minority, those are different challenges you’ll face. I think the most important lesson was for us not to see colour; that didn’t matter for my parents. It was like, ‘You don’t need to see colour. People might see your colour, but that’s not how you see the world.’ So, I think it’s important for each and every parent to teach their child that.”
The self-esteem boosting tactics adopted by Venus’s parents, Richard and Oracene, are brilliantly brought to life in this year’s Academy Award-winning biographical film King Richard, starring Will Smith. The film also centres the pivotal role their mother played in their intensive childhood coaching. Has the film – which was executive produced by Venus, Serena and their older sister Isha – inspired them to create more movies?
“Serena and I are very co-dependent. We do the same thing that the other one does. It just goes on and on, it’s an endless cycle”
“Yeah, we’re definitely doing more producing,” Venus tells me. “We’re telling some fantastic stories. I think that we found a little bit of our niche, so we want to continue that, and other than that Serena’s doing venture capital. I go with her sometimes to conferences, though I’m not going to do venture capital. But I like watching her and everyone’s telling me how amazing she is. People I meet around the world tell me, ‘We invested in your sister’s fund.’ I’m like, ‘I know, I did too!’ So, it’s great to see her come into her own there. I think she's a natural.”
Serena’s recent tribute to Venus was a display of typical generosity between the close-knit sisters. I ask, are they healthily competitive?
“Yeah, Serena and I are very co-dependent,” Venus laughs. “We do the same thing that the other one does. It just goes on and on, it’s an endless cycle – even when we were around eight years old and going like, ‘I want to do it, too!’” she says, whilst playfully imitating their childhood voices. “But it’s more of a motivation and when I see her doing great, it’s my success. It’s also motivating for me and lets me know I also can do that, and that’s how you have to look at other people’s success.
I love seeing people do great… I don’t like to see anyone fail. I like to see my opponents lose against me, but other than that I like to ride that energy that other people bring with success. Serena has taught me so much and there’s so much you can learn just from being around greatness and that’s what she is – the greatest ever.”
Nothing but love on the court.
Serena has been vocal about discovering that only 2% of venture capital goes to female founders of start-ups, which became the motivation for creating her own investment fund. Venus also began blazing trails for women’s financial equality in 2007, when she successfully challenged Wimbledon’s disparity between male and female prize-money. She became the first woman to collect an equal-sized winner’s cheque and has since launched a broader #PrivilegeTax movement to campaign for pay equity for women beyond sport. I ask whether her perspective as a Black woman influenced this campaign, given we statistically experience the biggest pay gap due to misogynoir.
“Yes, absolutely,” she states. “When I was growing up, I just wanted to play tennis and go win tournaments – and then when I got there, it was not equal and you’re like, hold the presses. What’s going on? So, being a part of achieving equal prize money for women at the major tennis tournaments was fantastic and now of course it’s my dream that women will not have to face that anywhere. No young girl will have to come in and realise that her male counterpart is being paid more and hopefully these gaps will continue to close. But in order to close those gaps, we have to do work and we also have to create awareness. Because most people don’t wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and say, ‘Gosh, so and so’s getting paid less than so and so.’ So, it’s important to change these mentalities at every single level, whether it’s the employee or management and leadership.”
Venus has confirmed through her YouTube channel that she doesn’t plan to retire from tennis yet. But that hasn’t stopped her from expanding into other ventures, including her EleVen fashion and beauty brand, a protein shake range – Happy Viking – and her own interior design business, V Starr Design. Her SPF-led range with Credo, first launched in 2020, was inspired by challenging misconceptions around sun protection for Black skin.
“I thought that I didn’t have to protect my skin because I already had natural SPF and it wasn’t until my mid-30s that I realised, gosh I’m wrong. Wow, how much damage have I done? I haven’t paid for it yet, but I have changed. It’s so important. Your skin’s your biggest organ, you have got to take care of it by what you put on it.”
Since we’re talking beauty, I ask if she’s ever felt pressure to attain a specific beauty standard, especially in a once non-inclusive sport such as tennis?
“Yeah, standards of beauty are definitely dictated by the time and the space that we live in and the standard right now is so different than the standard when I first started playing tennis. But what matters is you don’t lose yourself as an individual – you know who you are and what works for you, and that you don’t have to be everyone.
“I don’t think I was always considered beautiful, but it didn’t matter because what mattered was what I thought of myself. And also, I got to let my racket do the talking”
"Something a lot of young women are facing right now is this pressure to look standardised and I’ve never gone for that. I always felt less comfortable if I was pushed into something that was everyone else; I’ve always just wanted to be me. I think that influence definitely comes from my family and my parents, they pushed individuality and confidence in yourself, and playing sports, I believe, gives you that. Because you fail and succeed, and you see what it takes to actually be great. Hopefully at that point your standard of greatness and who you are as an individual really becomes something you relish and grab onto. So my path has definitely been different.
“I don’t think I was always considered beautiful, but it didn’t matter because what mattered was what I thought of myself. And also, I got to let my racket do the talking,” she laughs.
Now a new generation of female tennis players have risen through the ranks, including Emma Raducanu, Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur, does Venus feel it’s changed for the better?
“The standard of beauty right now is more inclusive, so that’s wonderful, but at the same time there’s tons of pressure. I think the standard of beauty 20, 30 years ago was ‘be as thin as possible’ and now the standard of beauty has shifted more to ‘be as curvy as possible’, and there’s pressure to augment yourself to fit into the standard somehow and that’s not realistic. You just got to know you and be comfortable with you – and if that means also augmenting, that’s fine too, as long as you accept yourself.”
The bobs are completely different styles, and suit the sisters well.
Venus’s father Richard earned a reputation for holding boundaries including cutting off reporters if they asked too many negative questions of his daughters. Did his example help Venus manage her own mental strength as an adult?
“Oh, my gosh, boundaries are so important in life,” Venus replies enthusiastically. “If you don’t have them, anything’s going to happen. So, it’s important to have boundaries... You also have to establish your values. So, my parents helped us establish ours.
"With the mental health crisis that’s around the world, you do have to set healthy boundaries and you have to do that work on yourself to set boundaries. So that way you aren’t afraid and once you let go of that fear then the whole world’s open to you.”
Protecting the mental health of pro tennis players has been high on the agenda after Naomi Osaka pulled out of the French Open in May 2021 and opened up about the pressures of managing her anxiety and depression when facing the media. I ask Venus what tactics she leans on to deal with similar pressure?
“I don’t read any media, that’s important. I’m just one person. There’s lots of articles, lots of people, lots of blogs, lots of Twitter. So, you have to shield yourself from that, so you can really meditate on what you think and also be proactive about your thinking. You can actually train your mind to think the way you want to, if you put in the time – so meditating on the thoughts that you want to have, if you have bad thoughts, really figuring out why you have them, then eradicating them, journaling, all those things… So, those are all things that I use and also another one is just not caring.
“I just don’t care what anyone thinks and I don’t have time. You’re not going to live my life. You’re not going to breathe for me. My heart’s not going to beat for you and deuces,” she laughs. “So, once you get there, it’s a whole new world, it really is. It’s the best world and I think you can have that attitude, but you have to constantly make sure that you don’t go back to caring.”
“I just don’t care what anyone thinks and I don’t have time. You’re not going to live my life”
This is the clapback side of Venus we’ve loved seeing when she’s on court. Are they another tactic she relies on?
“I love a clapback, it’s so fun. I don’t even see it as offensive, I just see it as let’s just shut this down,” she states. “My mom, Oracene, did not allow microaggressions in the home. I have a very short fuse for it. So, yeah, no, I’m not the one! But I see other people dealing with it. I have no part of it. No drama for me, I can’t. I’m too busy for drama.
"Some people like drama and that’s their choice. With my friends, I give them maybe one piece of advice and then people know. You don’t have to beg anyone. I’m not in a begging business, I’m a real chill girl, so your choice.”
In her more relaxed moments, Venus explains, “Staying connected to gratitude for me is definitely healthy, especially with what I do as an athlete,” she says. “So these days I’m very, very excited about it and excited to wake up and go play. Definitely having a spiritual aspect to your life makes you gracious and it’s something you have to practise… which is not easy, but it’s worth it.”
Venus had to overcome major health challenges after she developed the autoimmune disease Sjögren’s syndrome, for which she was finally diagnosed in 2011 and which forced her to stop playing for a period. How did she heal after that de-stabilising experience?
“It takes a long time to accept it, especially as an athlete I create my realities. So, to have a reality pushed on you is something that is not really acceptable. It takes time to be like, ‘OK, yeah this is the thing.’ It was important for me to fight for my best health.”
Venus used this setback to create a solution for others by developing Happy Viking shakes. “They’re fortified with superfoods and vitamins that make it easy to just drink something quick and tasty that actually helps your body to regenerate, renew and be good for gut health. I wanted to help people to have a very quick solution to good health. You don’t have to have an autoimmune disease to be proactive about your health. We all want to live longer, living healthy. I encourage most people to be plant-based as much as possible.”
I’m curious about whether there are new ways she’s discovering to enjoy her life even more?
“Balance is important and burnout is real; you have to find your balance and for me, that’s about taking moments every day. [At] the end of the day, I have my two hours of quiet and nobody’s there, no one’s talking and it’s just my moment. I guess when you have kids you could still have that, after you put them in bed, and then you might have a husband or significant other. I don’t know any of this works outside of a single life, but I’ve got my little routines that work for me!”
“When life changes, you’ve got to know when to change. You can’t hold on to either a relationship or the singleness”
I can’t resist asking if she feels single women should feel more celebrated, given more of us are living solo lives? “Yeah. I’ve had a single life for a long time and I think it’s really easy to get stuck in a single life and sometimes – at least for me – harder to get out of a single life. So, that’s probably something I’m working on now and it makes you think about yourself and what you want and how to behave. It’s definitely a lot of self-thought that goes into it. And I guess for other people they are running to a relationship, which has never been my thing. So, we’re all different. This is how I work and function, and I’m OK with it. When life changes, you’ve got to know when to change. You can’t hold on to either a relationship or the singleness. You have to be able to move at the time – and even if you don’t want to or aren’t ready, you’ve just got to go with it.”
Venus is also a woman of faith, and she and her sisters were raised as Jehovah’s witnesses.
“Faith is extremely important to me,” she says. “Without faith, then what do you have? It can be scary. Second is that it gives me guidelines to follow and it helps you not to be alone. So, you’re not having to make all these decisions alone, [wondering] maybe what’s right and what’s wrong. It actually keeps you safe. If you are making good decisions, you don’t have to be worried about making bad ones. Everybody’s imperfect, we all make mistakes. I make lots of them, but I’m always trying to align, back to centre.
Finally, I ask Venus that when she looks back on her exceptional career so far, does she know what she wants her legacy to be?
“It’s not something I think about. I know that sounds crazy. Do people wake up and think about legacies? I’m in the ‘right now’. I’ve got a tournament coming I’m trying to play. It’s like, what am I going to achieve in this moment? I’ve always been forward-looking and I think a legacy isn’t as important as just enjoying your life. I have enjoyed mine and I think I could do even better at that. So, that’s kind of my next thing, just to live a little and if you could give back and encourage others, that’s the best legacy.”
Stylist: Oliver Vaughn
Stylist assistant: Nia Hubbard
Makeup: Hung Vanggo
Makeup assistant: Jayden Ho Pham
Hair: Ro Morgan
Nails: Arlene Hinckson
Creative direction: Dennis Lye & Nathalie Kirsheh
Beauty Director: Camilla Kay
Production: Grace Barnes, Elizabeth Robert, Louise Lund
