7x Grand Slam winner, 4x Olympic champion, writer, and what else? A fashionista, of course! Venus Williams has not dropped the ball in any of her serves. Now the tennis pro has got one more game to ace. That is the blonde game! And as it seems, the partner in crime is none other than her sister, Serena Williams. How can we forget Serena’s stunner during the Paris Olympics?

They say, “Blondes have more fun.” Serena tested that herself when she debuted the platinum blonde hair color in Paris while attending the Prelude to the Olympics party at Foundation Louis Vuitton ahead of the opening ceremonies. The 23x Grand Slam winner’s waist-length mermaid waves sported an old Hollywood-inspired side part. Usually sporting honey ombré locks with dark brown roots, the look came as a surprise, becoming the talk of the town. That seems to have taken Venus into its fold as well as she also signed up for the blonde club.

Venus, who announced her new book Strive in April, shared her latest look through her Instagram story. She looked gorgeous in her fresh blonde waves while walking through a store. “Maybe blondes so have more fun….” she wrote, adding leverage to how her sister might have inspired her new look. She took another selfie in the next Instagram story with the caption, “Def fun :)” showing her satisfaction with the latest hair color. Notably, it comes after Venus’ first blonde appearance in July.

In collaboration with Schwarzkopf, Venus celebrated the relaunch of the brand’s IGORA VIBRANCE Demi-Permanent color. She experimented with a blonde hue, and her reaction was priceless. “When I saw that color, I was like, ‘Gosh, it looks just like Serena,’” she said, expressing her initial reaction to the honey shade color that she rocked for the brand’s “Up Your Game” campaign. “I’ve actually never gone that blonde” Venus texted her sister, emphasizing how they “looked like twins.”

While the tennis star has been mostly seen with her dark brown, long, sleek hair, she loved stepping out of her comfort zone and trying something new. “It was really fun to actually get out of my comfort zone and do something that I never thought I could do, I think a lot of people go for color, but then it doesn’t work for them,” she said. So how did it work for Venus? Let’s hear from the stylist who crafted the look.

To create Venus’ makeover, celebrity hairstylist Brendnetta Ashley used Schwarzkopf’s Blondme lightener and Igora Vibrance. “Styling the blonde glamorous look, we used OSiS+ Elastic Light Hold Hairspray,” Ashley told Us Weekly. She further added that she was inspired to create something “new and fresh” for Venus. “Being that honey blondes and warmer blondes are such a trend now, I felt like that was going to be the perfect color for her,” Ashley said. The stylist considered Venus’ skin tone and eye color to choose the perfect shade for her.

“It just melts into her,” Ashley said of the lighter shade. “I saw it and I was like, ‘Oh, I love it,’ but then once we saw her take the pictures, you saw a whole new personality come to life, and that just sent me over the moon,” she gushed. For Venus, experimenting with her hair is a way of self-expression as she pointed out. But with that, she also ensures that she is fashion-updated.

“My philosophy is, ‘Update, don’t be late.’” [You don’t want to] look back in 15 years and you never changed your style. So it was really fun to partner with Schwarzkopf and the IGORA Vibrance hair color because you can update, don’t be late,” Venus summed up about her look. Indeed, Venus has been on top of this game, for years. Last summer, she rocked an ice pink ombré, once again matching with Serena, before returning to brunette. And who can forget Venus and Serena’s iconic beaded hairdos on court?

In 1997, she and Serena, 42, stepped in together with braided beads on the court, a style that Venus has since worn again. “It’s a style that young people who are African American wear, so it’s not necessarily a style you would always wear as an adult,” she said, talking about the iconic look. Over the years, her on-court styles have evolved from braids to slicked-back styles and buns. “I was really looking for something easy because before the match … your mind is elsewhere,” Venus explained to Us Weekly. But is blonde her new thing?

As she revealed to Us Weekly, it seems so. While she’s been rocking her natural brunette color recently, she admitted that she had more “fun” as a blonde. Not only hair, but Venus has truly been a fashionable soul, becoming a standout in the realm with her stunning choices of outfits.

Venus Williams’ fashion game is much deeper than it appears

In her last Met Gala appearance in May 2024, Venus stunned in a tube Marc Jacobs dress adorned with uncountable mirrors. It received much applause from the fraternity and added a seal to Venus’ skill in beauty and fashion. In the very next month, Venus, along with Serena turned heads in Vogue World 2024 in Paris.

Venus walked the show in a custom Marine Serre look crafted from repurposed tennis bags. The structured silhouette featured body-contouring panels and piping and embroidery from the original bags and Venus thought that the look was a ‘killer’. On the other hand, Serre complemented by saying, “Venus epitomizes the essence of female empowerment and strength,” while also noting that the tennis star was the first Black player in history to reach the number one world ranking and also spoke in favor of equal prize money for male and female players. This empowerment is exactly what Venus points out when it comes to fashion.

“I’ve always had a love for fashion, and throughout my tennis career, that affinity grew even more. I truly believe that in order to perform your best, you need to feel your best. Before a match, I always think [about] how I’ll feel in the clothes I wear, how I’ll move in them, how they’ll support me, et cetera. What you wear is so important in tennis,” Venus had told Vogue about how fashion is a boon to her. So she carries that fashionable self everywhere. Take, for example, her outfit in the 2023 US Open.

The 2x U.S. Open champion arrived in a Willy Chavarria blazer in black which featured an enlarged matching flower on the left shoulder, the most standout feature of the outfit. She paired it with a white, bubble hem cotton Alaia mini skirt, highlighting Venus’ toned physique. For accessories, she wore a silver IWC watch, a minimalistic Prada leather shoulder bag in black, and a pair of sky-high Prada logo satin platform sandals. To top it off, an oversized Wilson carry-all in bright red offered a shot of color. Her cotton candy pink braids rounded off the look. Have you ever wondered, how she nails her fashion choices in every outing?

Because, for Venus, it started early. “Fashion started at a grassroots level for me. My mom ended up sewing my tennis skirts for my first professional tennis match. I still love it at that creation level. I studied fashion, and it was a great experience. It taught me so much about the garment, what that means and how to create something that’s entirely you,” Venus had said to Fashionista. For the unversed, Venus received her associate degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in 2007. This has flourished in many forms.

Not merely walking the ramp or pulling off stunning on-court style, but she has ventured into the fashion business as well with her clothing line, Eleven, design collaborations with the likes of Lacoste and, jewelry brand Reinstein Ross. Venus, who idolizes Naomi Campbell in fashion, describes her style is a mix of ridiculous, nerdy, and artsy. Indeed, that is helping her ace, just like her powerful serve used to earn her on the court!