Serena Williams Shares What It Means for Mattel to Make a Barbie Doll of Her

The tennis legend and entrepreneur is included in the new “Barbie’s Dream Team” campaign.

Mattel created a Barbie of Serena Williams for their new “Dream Team” campaign. | Mattel

Add being part of the Barbie Dream Team to Serena Williams’s ever growing résumé.

Barbie announced a new line up of dolls for this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8, and Williams is included in the women chosen to have a doll made of them. However, Williams’s doll is wearing business attire instead of a tennis outfit as her doll is representing the entrepreneurial part of her life.

“Being part of the Barbie Dream Team means you always have to be like the first. For instance, the first CEO of Serena Ventures,” Williams said in a press release Mattel sent to Sports Illustrated. “Just like so many women have empowered me to turn my fear into courage and doubt into confidence, I hope we can do the same by championing girls everywhere to pick up a racquet, become an entrepreneur, or do whatever ignites their passion and brings their dreams to life.” 

Williams was impressed with how “fabulous” her doll turned out, and she’s excited to introduce her doll to her two daughters’—Olympia and Adira—collection.

“I play Barbies all the time with my girls, and now we have a new character,” Williams shared.

Williams joins her older sister Venus in having a Barbie doll created of them. The elder Williams sister was part of Barbie’s “Inspiring Women” campaign last August. Williams is notably wearing a white tennis outfit to likely pay homage to her five Wimbledon titles.

Serena Williams could return to the tennis court soon

Williams has focused on her entrepreneurial endeavors since retiring from tennis at the 2022 U.S. Open, but she could possibly be pulling her racket out of storage here soon. Williams has continuously made headlines the past few months after she re-entered the International Registered Testing Pool, signaling a possible return. As of Feb. 22, Williams is officially eligible to be reinstated to return to tennis as she completed the amount of time needed for the International Tennis Integrity Agency.

Williams hasn’t given fans an official answer about a return as she most recently skated around any questions regarding an unretirement. The tennis world, including Novak Djokovic, believes the Williams sisters could reunite in doubles in some way, possibly at a major this year or something of that nature. The elder Williams sister recently responded to rumors about a potential doubles reunion with her sister, but she didn’t give a clear answer. She probably knows more than anyone else at this point.

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