Serena Williams Returns to the Tennis Court After Four Years—With a New Nike Outfit

Tennis tournaments haven't been the same without Serena Williams. It's been four long years since she announced her retirement, after years of racking up Grand Slam wins. You wouldn't know it, though. At the HSBC Championships on June 9, Williams looked like no time has passed in a peony pink Nike tennis outfit. Better yet, she marked her grand return with a win.

Clearly, the GOAT couldn't wait to get back in the swing of things. It's only been two weeks since news of her comeback spread. Williams teamed up with Canada's Victoria Mboko for their first doubles match at The Queen's Club in London. The private members' club is significantly smaller than Wimbledon, but when Williams arrived, the crowd's cheers shook the stands just the same.

The star athlete wore Nike from headband-to-toe, continuing her 23-year tradition and ambassadorship. Tennis whites traded places with peony pink, a chic color trend blossoming in Bella Hadid, Jennifer Lawrence, and Olivia Rodrigo's closets.

Williams's warm-up windbreaker—in cool-toned baby pink—wasn't too far from white on the color wheel. Such a light color shined a spotlight on the zip-up's high collar and elasticized, bomber-style hem. To the style trained eye, she clearly used her tennis hiatus to become a full-fledged fashion girl. Now, Williams is as familiar with rising runway shades as she is the sport's complicated rulebook.

Before her first serve, Williams unzipped the early-summer jacket trend, revealing a white tank top underneath. She tucked her first Nike-branded piece into a pleated mini skirt (her go-to tennis bottoms for decades). Every feature—from the high-rise waistband to its thigh-grazing hem—picked up where her peony-tinted outerwear left off.

Never one to turn down a monochrome outfit, Williams kept the pink picks going with Nike Air Zoom Vapor X sneakers. Each oversize tongue, curved toe box, and low-profile sole turned a few tints darker than her skirt set. Perhaps her custom NikeCourt Flare sneakers (which Williams helped design, and wore nonstop pre-retirement) weren't available in such a fresh-from-the-garden shade of raspberry.

To finish, she earned extra points for picking a Wilsons racket with a hot pink handle.

Pink has played a major part in Williams's stylish tennis run. She's won many matches while wearing pink, including the 2014 US Open. That season, she and her leopard-print dress, two-tone sneakers, and matching headband all advanced to the finals. Each style's bright fuchsia shade made her unmissable—and potentially distracting—to her opponent. Before stepping away in 2022, she warmed up for her final US Open match in a neon pink pleated skirt.

The further Williams advanced in Australian Opens, French Opens, and even Italian Opens, the more she committed to pink color stories. Maybe she'll keep the tradition alive at the HSBC Championships' quarter final on June 11.