Forty female athletes from around the world descended on Paris for Nike’s “On Air” event at the Palais Brongniart this week, with Vogue hot on their Air-clad heels. In and amongst other top-notch sporting talents: the inimitable Serena Williams, who took time out to share some wit and wisdom with Vogue in her hotel room, starting with her number-one piece of advice for the next generation of sportswomen. “Never forget who you are, and be yourself,” she counseled. “Be yourself and be happy with that… You’ll play better, you’ll feel more confident… And sometimes it’s hard, right? It’s hard to, like, just truly go out there and own who you are, but you can do it. And that’s something that always helped me.”
Of course, since her wonderfully candid announcement of her retirement from tennis in Vogue’s September 2022 issue, Serena has shifted her focus from Olympic golds to Olympia, her six-year-old, and Adira, who’s not yet one. (“She keeps me very humble,” the former World No. 1 admits of her firstborn with a laugh. “She told me the other day that my stomach was big, and I looked pregnant. And I was like, ‘Okay, well that’s not nice…!’”)
Even if Williams’s Grand Slam days are behind her, her lifestyle remains fitness and health-focused, with the odd taco night (“I do love to order anything spicy”) and cinnamon roll (her dinner party signature) thrown in for good measure (“Mmm, beautiful”). As for her AM routine? “I start my day off right by waking up early, you know, getting an early workout in, just something very light, just to get my brain going–it works better than coffee for me when I get up and work out. Obviously, getting lots of hugs and kisses from my girls. That is, like, the perfect day. Of course, none of that actually ever happens. I never wake up early. I’m always running late… I do get the kisses and hugs, but I am procrastinating every single morning.”