Serena Williams is not only a renowned athlete but also a fashion and beauty icon. She has been known for her distinctive style both on and off the court. Serena is known for her bold and daring fashion choices. She has rocked everything from leopard print catsuits to tutus on the court. However, her confidence and flair did not come naturally. She wasn’t born feeling beautiful about herself. As she mentions in her 2009 book “Queen of the Court”, the Serena we know today is very different from the little girl who her dad coached.

Seeing Serena being featured in beauty campaigns and magazine covers throughout her career, it isn’t easy to believe how she struggled with her body image during her childhood. Being the youngest of all her siblings at the time, Serena says she finds it hard to believe that her sisters did not try to evolve her sense in fashion.

Serena Williams thought she was an “ugly duckling”!

In an excerpt from her memoir, “Queen of the World,” she reflects on her past troublesome behavior. She admits to being difficult for her family and opponents when she was younger. Serena’s mischievous side was also witnessed by Rick Macci, who coached her after her father. Talking about the same in her memoir, she wrote, “My goodness, I had a rotten streak. I was horrible-a real witch! To my sisters. To my little kid opponents. I had this double-dose of mischief and rebellion that couldn’t help but bubble forth.”

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Serena also talks about how she couldn’t control her actions, even in front of her parents. However, there was one thing little Serena was great at- “deniability”. She says, “But I was smart: I always had deniability. That’s what they call it on those Law and Order shows I like to watch: plausible deniability. I could always point the finger, look the other way, or pretend to have no idea there was any kind of trouble.”

For her, this is one of the great advantages of being the youngest- the ability to avoid any responsibility for your actions, as people were more inclined to take her side. However, despite this role, Serena did not see herself as cute.

She instead struggled with her self-image, feeling like an “ugly duckling”. She wrote, “I never thought of myself as cute…That wasn’t my self-image. I looked in the mirror and saw an ugly duckling.”

She also mentions feeling envious of her sisters’ fashion sense and believing they must have noticed how “goofy” she looked.

“I look at pictures of myself from back then and think, ‘How could my mom have let me out of the house looking like that?’ I blame my sisters, too. Even then, they had a real sense of style, a sense of fashion, a flash, and flair. Surely, they must have noticed how goofy I looked.”

Judging by how confident she is today, and how she has revamped beauty for women, it is a far cry from the little girl who thought of herself as ugly. Despite her huge success, she isn’t scared of being vulnerable to her fans. Serena Williams is undoubtedly a trailblazer in both tennis and beauty, inspiring millions of women worldwide.

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Has Serena’s daring fashion sense, both on and off the court, inspired you in your career or personal life?