Serena Williams is currently participating in the US Open and receiving love from her biggest fan. Before Williams’ first-round match, a new Gatorade commercial aired which featured Beyoncé as the narrator. According to PEOPLE, the commercial officially debuted on Sunday during the MTV Video Music Awards.
“When the world writes her down in history, we’ll begin where she started — at love,” Beyoncé said. “No points, zero score, just love. It’s a love that we’ll remember through the generations. A love that started a movement. A movement to always love exactly who you are and who you can be.” The commercial includes footage of other female athletes and Williams when she began her tennis career. There is also a cameo appearance from her daughter Olympia.
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“Serena’s immeasurable impact spans far beyond the court,” Kalen Thornton, chief marketing officer at Gatorade, said in a release. “Her unapologetic love for the game, herself, and community, started a movement that inspired millions. As a long-standing member of the Gatorade Family, ‘Love Means Everything’ celebrates the movement of empowerment and love Serena embodies as she continues to inspire the next generation.”
Beyoncé is paying tribute to Williams as she is competing in her last tournament before she retires from tennis. In the September issue of Vogue, Williams said she would begin an “evolution” away from tennis. “I have never liked the word retirement,” Williams wrote in Vogue. “It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
Williams competed in her first-round US Open match on Monday night and defeated Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3. According to ESPN, various celebrities were in attendance, including former President Bill Clinton, Spike Lee, Lindsey Vonn, Bella Hadid, Rebel Wilson, Vera Wang, Mike Tyson, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Gladys Knight, Martina Navratilova and tennis star Coco Gauff. Before the match, a video was shown that was narrated by Queen Latifah, and Williams was introduced as the “Greatest of All Time.”
