Last night, when Serena Williams walked onto the court at the US Open in Flushing Meadows, there were audible gasps. The crowd wasn’t just taking in the sheer presence of the 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion in the final tennis tournament of her career, but also Williams’s sparkling and shimmering form, covered in crystals, all the way up to her curls.
For her first US Open 2022 look, Williams wore a custom black Nike set she designed herself. Inspired by dresses worn by figure skaters, it featured a gem-encrusted bodice with starry details evoking the night sky over the Arthur Ashe Stadium stadium and a tulle skirt with six layers to symbolize her previous US Open wins. Further accessorizing the look were NikeCourt Flare 2 sneakers accented by a diamond-encrusted swoosh and gold deubré laces woven with 400 hand-set diamonds in collaboration with Serena Williams Jewelry. The look is just the latest from Williams, who is known for serving major on-court style moments, such as the asymmetrical black, pink, and red Nike unitard (inspired by the late track great Florence Griffith Joyner) she wore at the start of the Australian Open earlier this year.
To echo the gleaming details of her outfit, Williams wanted her hair to shine too. Her buoyant sun-kissed curls were pulled back with a crystal-studded headband and spangled with an array of twinkling gems by hairstylist Nikki Nelms. It was a sight to behold from every angle as Williams beat out Montenegro’s Danka Kovinić in a 6-3, 6-3 victory. “She’s been shining her whole life…her whole career,” Nelms wrote on Instagram. “Last night her hair did too.”
Always one to make a case for next-level hair moments on the court, Williams’s embellished ponytail may be her most iconic to date. And the hair statements didn’t end there. Olympia, the pro’s four-year-old daughter with husband Alexis Ohanian, wore white beads in her hair, nodding to the iconic hairstyle Williams wore when she won her first US Open tournament in 1999.
Amplifying the electric energy within the Arthur Ashe Stadium last night, Williams’s head-to-toe glittering moment was fit for an unforgettable evening.