"I started adding a twirl"- Venus Williams shares how Anne Hathaway's 'Princess Diaries' inspired her signature celebration

Venus Williams opened up about her signature wave ahead of competing in her first match in the Citi Open, stating that it has been inspired by Anne Hathaway's movie, 'The Princess Diaries.' She has returned to the court after a span of 16 months.

Williams came back to the tennis court at the Citi Open, where she competed in the women's doubles with Hailey Baptiste as her partner. She made her return with a stellar win against Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue in the first round of the tournament with a score of 6-3, 6-1. Ahead of this match, the American was last seen in action at the Miami Open in March 2024.

Before coming back after a 16-month hiatus, Williams talked about her signature wave and how it was inspired by Anne Hathaway's 'Princess Diaries.' The DC Open shared a video of her breaking down her signature wave, in which she stated that she enhanced Hathaway's wave by adding a twirl to it and making it her signature move.

"Hi, it's Venus here, and I'm going to show you my signature wave at the end of my matches. It was actually inspired by this movie, The Princess Diaries. It's kind of a funny movie about this girl who becomes royalty. There's this point in the movie where she says, like, you have to wave like this. "So at the end of my matches, I started waving like this, and then somehow I started adding a twirl at the end. And so you kind of step back, and then you go up and around and like that. And when you have momentum, you can kind of get around almost twice. I don't have the momentum today because I have I don't have the adrenaline from the match, but it's just, and there you go," said Venus Williams.

Williams opened up about her 30-year-old Fibroids journey, and her sister, Serena Williams, sent an emotional message supporting the former's journey.

When Venus Williams shared about refusing to give up after Wimbledon loss

The 2012 Wimbledon campaign was not what Venus Williams thought it would be, as she came back after navigating several health struggles. In 2011, after the US Open, the American had to withdraw during the season after being diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disease. This health scare caused her fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and dryness, too.

Following this, Williams came back in 2012. After competing at the Miami Open and the Charleston Open, where she reached the quarterfinal round, she participated in the 2012 Wimbledon following her second-round loss at Wimbledon. Here, she faced an unexpected loss in the first round against Elena Vesnina.

Following this loss, Venus Williams sat in a press conference, where she opened up about her health issues and said that she won't be discouraged by the upsets and was up for 'challenges.'

"I feel like I am a great player. I am a great player. Unfortunately, I had a deal with circumstances that people don't normally have to deal with in this sport. But I can't be discouraged by that, so I'm up for challenges. I have great tennis in me. I just need the opportunity," said Venus Williams.

She added:

"There's no way I'm just going to sit down and give up just because I have a hard time the first five or six freakin' tournaments back. You know, that's just not me."

Venus Williams has won 49 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including seven major titles, and a gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam