Serena Williams wants her daughters, Olympia, 9, and Adira, 3, to grow up with an unwavering sense of their own worth.
In a recent interview with ESSENCE, the tennis legend explained how she teaches her daughters to trust themselves—even when other people question what they can achieve.
“I just always tell them never to doubt themselves,” Williams said. “I tell them that the world is going to doubt you, so there’s no need for you to not believe in yourself. And I said, even if you don’t want to believe in yourself, you have to try.” She added that she reminds them each night how strong they are, calling them “strong, amazing Black women.”
Williams hopes to extend that message of confidence to young girls everywhere through her latest collaboration with Barbie.
On October 8, Mattel unveiled a Barbie Signature doll modeled after Williams. The collectible recreates the green-and-white tennis outfit she wore when she won the 2005 Australian Open, securing her seventh Grand Slam singles title.
The launch was especially meaningful to Williams because both of her daughters are currently enthusiastic Barbie fans.
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“When I first saw it, I was so excited,” she told ESSENCE. “I mean, I particularly am obsessed with Barbies now because my daughters are both in the stage where they play with Barbies. And having an opportunity to have my own doll is insanely cute, especially for my kids.”
As a mother of two, Williams took an active role in shaping the doll’s design. She wanted its appearance to reflect her own features, including her skin tone and natural hair texture.
“It was really important for me to have the right skin tone,” she explained. “It was really important for me also for them to have the right hair. I’ve recently gone more blonde and I wanted it to be a little bit lighter than when I actually wore that outfit—so I wanted to stick that modern element into it. It was also really important for me to have a really curly hair texture, nothing straight.”
In a statement released Thursday, Williams described the message she hopes girls will find in a Barbie created in her image.
“Growing up, I didn’t see many girls who looked like me being told there was no limit to who they could become. I want every girl who plays with this doll to see possibility—not just in me, but in herself. She can dream big, work hard, change direction, break barriers, and become anything she chooses,” Williams said.