The third time is almost the charm, because Serena Williams continues her journey to fit into her pre-pregnancy Valentino skirt. This time, the mother of two is much closer than before!
“Ok guys the denim skirt is gooooood. Paris was fun but I need to see if I can fit into this skirt yet – saying a little prayer… lol,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion captioned the video shared on Monday.
In the clip, set to Ginuwine’s “In Those Jeans,” Williams is upbeat about trying the piece again after nearly six weeks since her last attempt.
“It’s been a really hard journey, so thank you for joining me on this,” Williams says as she tries to lift her skirt. “A tough journey! Now, I haven’t experienced it since last time, so let’s see what happens here. Let’s say our prayers (and) don’t get negative if it doesn’t work out.”
The skirt goes up her legs and past her butt, which is a notable difference from previous videos where the skirt never went past the last one, and couldn’t even be buttoned. However, according to Williams, “We still have a little bit of a problem” as she can’t zip the skirt up.
“We’ve made a lot of progress,” the pro athlete proclaims, though she says she still needs “a few more weeks” to get the skirt to fit perfectly. “I’m not that sad, honestly, I’m not even disappointed. I got it on my butt! I might have to do one more video. Hopefully the next one gets the pick!”
In January, the 42-year-old tennis champion took to Instagram totry the skirt for the first time after welcoming her and husband Alexis Ohanian’s second child, Adirain August 2023.
Showing how the skirt wouldn’t go over her butt, Williams joked, “We still have a long way to go. Houston, we have a problem. Palm Beach, we have a problem… I feel like if I go to the gym and get in shape , I’ll be able to fit in a month.”
Williams and Ohanian are also parents to Alexis Olympia Jr., 6.
In April, the The Wyn Beauty founder spoke to ET and shared that she’s going to accomplish her goal of fitting into that Valentino skirt — and soon.
“I’m working towards my goal. I’m going to fit into that skirt soon,” the greatest tennis player of all time said, referring to a very relatable moment. “No, it’s important, just to be honest. And I literally don’t consider myself any different than anyone else. I’m going through the same struggles, but I’m going to fit into that skirt!”
Along the same lines, Williams shared how she is teaching her daughters the power of positivity in themselves and others.
“For me, it’s really important that they love who they are and how they look,” she shared at the time. “I also promote that positivity by encouraging them to give compliments to others, especially compliments to other girls. So if I see a girl in their class, I’m like, ‘Oh, she looks nice, right?’ She’s like, ‘Yeah, I like her hair.’ I’m like, ‘I like her hair too.’”
She continued, “So I just encourage that because it doesn’t matter what they look like. If you can find something positive about them, then you will also find something positive about yourself and then you will win. “
She echoed similar sentiments when speaking with ET again in June to discuss his new docu-series, In the Arena: Serena Williams.
“The journey is coming! I actually have another one that I’m going to post,” she shared with ET about her goal of fitting back into a skirt. “The fun part is when the journey is over, I just bought a new pair of pants that I can’t fit into.”
Meanwhile, Williams is taking the opportunity to look back and reexamine her life and years in tennis with her ESPN+ docuseries.
The documentary series, directed by Thank You, Good Night: The Bon Jovi Story Director Gotham Chopra, recently premiered at the Tribeca Festival to rave reviews. The show features Williams deconstructing major moments in his career and the impact each victory and defeat had on his life.
“Just relax a little bit more,” she said of what she would tell her 14-year-old self. “I was so intense on the court and I wanted to be perfect every single moment and obviously that’s not possible. Just relax and, you know, I think that would have helped me a little bit.”
Watch a teaser of In the Arena: Serena Williams in the player below:
The documentary series premieres on ESPN+ on July 10.
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