With seven Grand Slam singles titles and five Olympic medals to her name, Venus Williams is no stranger to serving aces on the court.
But when she was tapped to co-chair the Met Gala 2026 alongside Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Anna Wintour — following in the footsteps of sister Serena, who co-hosted in 2019 — the tennis legend couldn’t believe it.
“So when I got the call, I was just shocked. I never thought that would happen — and of course you have to say yes! I was happy to be there tonight with my husband [actor Andrea Preti]. And Serena was there too, so it was a whole family thing.”
For her big Met Gala moment, Venus wore a “quite sparkly” custom Swarovski look based on Robert Pruitt’s “Venus Williams, Double Portrait,” her 2022 artwork commissioned by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
“All the inspiration came from art, which is the theme of the Met,” she told us.
The outfit’s pièce de résistance? A re-creation of the necklace Venus wears in the portrait, which was inspired by the intricate silver plate awarded to Wimbledon champions.
“It’s called the Venus Rosewater Dish, go figure,” said Venus, a five-time winner of the trophy.
Styled by Ronald Burton III, the athlete completed her look for the evening with glowing makeup by Karina Milan, an embellished braided updo by Jawara and a crystal-encrusted manicure by Gina Edwards.
