"She is an influencer but she is larger than life" - Nike Design Director Wilson Smith on Serena Williams
Nike Design Director Wilson Smith described Serena Williams as "larger than life" while reflecting on the time they worked together.
In a conversation with the University of Oregon on Tiktok, Smith recalled the time he designed tennis boots for the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
"One of my favorite stories that I can think of was working with Serena, and Serena is amazing," Smith said. "I was watching her shoes, she was always wearing boots, so I said, 'What do you think about a tennis boot?' She's like, 'Oh I love the tennis boot', and she signed up. So, I created these boots and it was really fun, they kind of had a spat on top."
Serena Williams wore the boots during her warm-up at the 2004 US Open. Smith revealed that many people didn't want the tennis star to wear the boots as they were "over the top."
"So, Serena wears these boots at the US Open and she comes out there in 2004. 2004 US Open, she's wearing these boots, the cameras are flashing like she's on a Paris runway," he continued. "That night, they told me at the US Open, 'Hey, we don't want her wearing those boots, that's like, too much, too over the top.' I say, 'Okay it's cool, we just wanted her to warm-up anyway."
Smith went on to narrate how Williams "crushed her opponent" and was pictured the next day on the front page of USA Today wearing the boots.
"So, she wore em, she zipped them off after the warm-ups, she went on and crushed her opponent, it was a great night. The next day, USA Today, was a big picture on the front page on the upper left hand corner with the boots. And the amazing thing was all the images which were taken during the tournament were all taken during the warm-ups," Smith said.
"She never warmed during the match and it showed how Serena pushes beyond the edge of the game itself. She is an influencer but she is larger than life. That's one of my fun stories," he added.
Serena Williams reached the quarterfinals of the 2004 US Open
Serena Williams was seeded third at the 2004 US Open and looked in good touch during the first week as she reached the quarterfinals with straight-set wins over Sandra Kleinova, Lindsay Lee-Waters, Tatiana Golovin, and Patty Schnyder.
However, her journey in the tournament came to an end in the quarterfinals as she lost 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Jennifer Capriati, who was making her final Grand Slam appearance.