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@serenawilliams looks absolutely incredible in these #NormanJeanRoy
photos from our cover story! Her 16-year run is, in the words of Sports
Illustrated, “one of the most sustained careers of excellence in the
history of athletics.” She is on top of the world, a serious contender
for the greatest athlete of her generation, and is the cover star of our
fall fashion issue.The caption given to the above photo by New York Magazine. |
With four
Olympic gold medals, five Wimbledon championships, and 21 Grand Slam
singles titles under her belt, there's no disputing that Serena Williams
is one tough cookie on the tennis courts. But for all her victories,
the sportswoman still has to do battle with sexists who body-shame her
and hold her to different standards than the boys.
Last
month, a troll on Twitter suggested that Serena’s victory at this
year’s Wimbledon was due to her masculine figure, writing on the social
media site that she was 'built like a man'.
Now, the 33-year old has told New York Magazine that
it's not just comments about her figure that are unfair - she also
faces a constant double-standard when it comes to on-the-court
behavior.
Serena was
raised in the rough city of Compton, California - not because her family
was poor, but because her middle-class father wanted her and her
sisters to be tough.
And
while that toughness has certainly been an advantage when it comes to
playing the game, it's also gotten her into some trouble.
Serena
has been fined on several occasions for outbursts on the court,
including a whopping $82,500 in 2009 after she screamed at a lineswoman
who called her for a foot fault: 'I swear to God, I'll f***ing take this
ball and shove it down your f***ing throat.'
But
the tennis pro insists that it's not necessarily her language or temper
that are the real problems, but sexism - as men who've had similar
outbursts receive considerably less attention and criticism for them. I just
think it was weird,' she said. 'I just really thought that was strange.
You have people who made a career out of yelling at line judges. And a
woman does it, and it’s like a big problem. But you know, hey.'
While
putting up with haters and critics has been ongoing through Serena's
impressive 13-year career, the 5'9" champion athlete doesn't like to
dwell on the past.
She
doesn't even really like to reminisce to much about the good stuff,
either, and admitted that she doesn't keep her winnings out on display
at home.
'I
have lots of trophies, and I’m just - I’m not that person that needs to
see all these trophies,' said the star, who was styled for her New York
Magazine shoot by Vogue editor Lawren Howell - who has also worked with
the likes of Emma Stone and Elle Fanning.
She
went on: 'I have some in my house here, some in my house there, some I
don’t know what happened to ’em. I have my grand-slam trophies…
somewhere.'
Instead of
focusing on what she has accomplished in the past, the busy pro is
setting 'herself up for a career after tennis' - which includes building
a fashion empire.
In
fact, Serena insists that initially, she wanted to be a wedding dress
designer, and even took a few college-level design classes.
'That
was my first real love,' she said, 'but then I was like, Listen. I’m
playing professional tennis. I’ll just do athleticwear.'
And
she did. Serena's line, Serena Williams Signature Statement, sells
exclusively on HSN, and complements the fashionista-on-the-courts
persona that she and her sister, Venus, cultivated.
'We
brought fashion back to tennis,' she said, adding: 'It was great when
Chris Evert was around. Tracy Austin had some great designs. But the
’90s was not a good time.
She has an impressive and amazing physique, her strength is obvious in these photos..
Woooooow! !! She is just sooo amazing!
ReplyDeleteShe is an epitome of "being the best at what you do"
Beautiful. Amazing.
ReplyDelete