When Venus Williams won Wimbledon wearing her own fashion brand

Throughout her career, Venus Williams won five editions of the Wimbledon tournament. On four occasions, her outfit, strictly white, featured the Vector logo of Reebok, the brand she signed with in 1995 in a $12 million deal. At the time, Williams was only 14 years old, but that didn’t stop her from becoming the first Black woman to secure an eight-figure contract. In 2000, the two parties agreed on a new record deal, a 5-year renewal worth $40 million, which was later renegotiated downward at the end of 2003, using a clause that allowed Reebok to opt out of the last two years if Williams failed to reach certain performance benchmarks. At the time of signing, this seemed unlikely, but it became a reality due to numerous injuries during those years. Williams continued to wear Reebok until 2007, and for this reason, the Vector logo was clearly visible on the kit she wore on July 7, 2007, the day she defeated Marion Bartoli in 90 minutes to win her fourth Wimbledon and, more importantly, become the first woman ever to win the tournament and receive the same prize money as the men's champion. Twelve months later, she repeated that feat, defeating her sister Serena in the final, this time wearing a different brand.

The Birth of EleVen

The brand in question is EleVen, the fashion brand Venus Williams founded in late 2007 with the clothing chain Steve & Barry's, shortly before the latter’s bankruptcy in 2008. Williams has always had a passion for fashion; for instance, during her partnership with Reebok, she designed some of the outfits she wore, and in 2007 she earned a degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Creating her own brand was a natural step, especially as injuries kept plaguing her, and technical sponsor offers no longer matched the numbers from the early years of her career. She needed a Plan B, something outside the box.

The brand's debut came at the Australian Open with a first collection featuring a white or black visor, a sky-blue polo-collared stretch fabric top, and a white skirt. A similar look appeared at that year’s Roland Garros, this time with a navy-blue skirt and a white polo-style stretch top with green and navy blue accents on the sides. But it was at Wimbledon that the real aesthetic revolution happened with the introduction of Goddess, a kit characterized by crisscrossing front straps, a single strip of fabric intersecting the rest of the outfit to create a small teardrop opening, adding a touch of femininity and elegance. The outfit was completed by wavy shorts that visually resembled a skirt, which she wore during the awards ceremony on July 5, 2008.

The Later Collections

The aesthetic success of that outfit was such that Venus Williams reused it at the 2008 US Open, this time in black with shocking pink accents, particularly in the logo at the center of the kit—four stylized vertical lines reminiscent of both the number 11 and the V for Venus. Over the years, her collections evolved, sometimes matching the visual impact of her earlier designs, other times flirting with poor taste. The first category includes sports dresses in bright colors or all-black, while the second features things like a black outfit with red lace-inspired details or a bright yellow mesh top paired with a patterned micro-skirt.

Notable as well were the outfits seen at Wimbledon in the following years: a fiber skirt evoking Hawaiian aesthetics paired with a thin-strapped top, or a lace outfit with a front zipper, gold details, and an open back. Her final appearance on grass in 2023 featured a top with a skirt that left part of her midriff exposed, and during practice, the look was enhanced with a one-shoulder robe featuring a star pattern.

The End?

Officially, Venus Williams has never announced her retirement from professional tennis nor has she ever declared the closure of her brand. As her appearances on the court have become more sporadic, so have her collections. There have still been highlights, such as her collaboration with California-based brand K-Swiss and a lifestyle capsule collection with Lacoste. But in February 2024, it was announced that EleVen productions have been paused in order to define new brand strategies.

The announcement didn’t come via a public statement but through a message sent by Williams to retailers, which also said the pause is not a goodbye, but a see you soon. In the meantime, her attention—at least in terms of lifestyle—is focused on Lacoste, for which she has been a Global Ambassador since 2022, even wearing an outfit with the crocodile logo at the 2025 Met Gala. Perhaps one day she’ll return to the court, and maybe on that day, Venus will once again wear an EleVen outfit, just like on that July 2008 afternoon at Wimbledon, when she defeated her sister Serena to win the last Slam title of her career.