On Saturday morning, Nike released the above tribute to tennis great Serena Williams after she played her final match in the U.S. Open on Friday, losing in round three to Ajla Tomljanovic. Williams is considered one of the greatest to have ever played the game, having won 23 Grand Slam titles, and literally changing the face of the sport. She announced in a personal essay in the August issue of Vogue, accompanied by beautiful photos of the athlete, that the U.S. Open would be her last professional tournament.
The one-minute spot is narrated by Euphoria’s Zendaya, and created with Nike’s longtime advertising partner Wieden+Kennedy Portland. It nods to much of what Williams achieved, helping girls and women of all races, colors and creeds to see themselves pursuing their dreams.
“When the world judged her home, she repped her city. When the world criticized her family. She loved them out loud. When the world wanted her to be less powerful, she hit even harder. When her body was too much for some, she made the world envy it. She refused to hide her flair or what was on her mind. She couldn’t stop winning, over and over and over again,” Zendaya says. “She didn’t change who she was and that changed everything for all of us.”
The spot is scored with an instrumental version of DJ Khaled’s “Higher.”
Gatorade also released a tribute spot to the tennis great, narrated by Beyonce.
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