Serena and Venus Williams teamed up for a rare photo shoot with Harper's Bazaar, in which the sisters talked about their lives both on and off the tennis court.
In the magazine's legacy-themed issue, Venus Williams, 41, and Serena Williams, 40, wear intricate outfits including quilted Richard Quinn coats, matching black gowns — made by Valentino and Gucci — and Rick Owens bubble jackets.
The tennis powerhouses also displayed their strong sisterly bond in the images by holding one another and laughing in unison.
The Williamses — who are both four-time Olympic gold medalists — have inspired many people to believe that anything is possible. And their new film, "King Richard," chronicles the girls' lives before they went pro.
“This isn’t a movie about tennis,” Serena Williams said. “This is a movie about family.”
While some social media users have criticized "King Richard" for focusing too much on the role of the Williams patriarch, Richard Williams, Serena Williams said the film is not just about the tennis superstars but also the family members who pushed them to succeed.
“I am a dreamer, and I love Marvel,” she said. “I think 'King Richard' is like 'Iron Man' and that there still are other stories around it. The next, obviously, would be the Venus story, and then there’s always the story about our other three sisters, and then there’s like a mom, and then there’s the Serena story. When I look at it, I see it just encompassing this whole superhero kind of thing.”
Now that they are in their 40s, the sisters are putting a lot of thought into what they want to do next, and the younger Williams said that being a legend is not on her mind.
“That’s something I don’t think about nor do I want," she said. "I don’t want to think about what I’m leaving. I just think about who I am every single day behind closed doors and behind cameras. And that’s what I focus on.”
Venus Williams agreed. “I’m so inspired by other changemakers too,” she said. “I absolutely love design. I love mentoring. I love passing on what I know.”
However, there is an ongoing joke that the two might change careers completely.
“Serena and I say we’re going to become bodybuilders after tennis. It might be extreme. It might not happen exactly like that, but you never know," Venus Williams said. “From such a young age, all we’ve done is work. So I think for Serena and I to explore that freedom is surreal. We’ve never been free.”