Venus Williams Reveals Her Signature Wave and Twirl Celebration is Inspired by Anne Hathaway’s ‘The Princess Diaries’

Venus Williams will start her singles campaign at the Citi Open against countrywoman Peyton Stearns.

Venus Williams Reveals Her Signature Wave and Twirl Celebration is Inspired by Anne Hathaway’s ‘The Princess Diaries’

Venus Williams, Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries (Image via X/Cincinnati Open, Ana)

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Who is the inspiration behind Venus Williams‘ famous wave and twirl celebration? It’s none other than Mia Thermopolis– the character that Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway played in the movie, The Princess Diaries.

In that film, Dowager Princess Clarisse Renaldi, played by the iconic Julie Andrews, teaches Mia how to elegantly wave like a royal. Williams, ahead of making her much-awaited comeback at the Citi Open, explained how The Princess Diaries inspired her celebration. Citi Open shared the clip on its social media.

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.

Watch the video here:

Williams has already made her comeback to tennis after a 16-month absence. On Monday (July 21), she played doubles, along with compatriot Hailey Baptiste, and beat the team of Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue. They will next meet the pair of Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Cristina Bucsa or the pair of Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai.

But she will start her singles campaign on July 22 against countrywoman Peyton Stearns, with whom she will be locking horns for the first time. Before this tournament, Williams was last seen in action at the 2024 Miami Open, where she lost to Diana Shnaider in the first round.

Venus Williams reveals what she missed the most about tennis

When Venus Williams used to play regularly, tennis kept her so busy that she didn’t have the time to reflect on what she liked and disliked the most about her career. But during her 16-month hiatus, the 45-year-old realized that she loves the challenges that this sport brings.

Venus Williams
Venus Williams (Image via X/Jimmie48 Photography)

But I do know that when I went to Wimbledon this year, I was there for a day, and it was so beautiful and exciting, and I remembered all the times that I had, and of course, the adrenaline…all those things. I think just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming…when you play, you overcome so many challenges, your opponents, the conditions.

Venus Williams said at the press conference

Williams, a five-time Wimbledon singles champion, last lifted the grass-court Major in 2008 by beating sister and 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams. But in 2017, she played her last Grand Slam final, at Wimbledon, losing the match to Garbine Muguruza.

Williams will become the oldest woman to play a main draw match since Kimiko Date (competed at the 2016 Japan Open at the age of 45) when she will be up against Peyton Stearns. If she is successful in beating her, she will become the oldest woman after Martina Navratilova to win a WTA match. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion did this at the 2004 Wimbledon at the age of 47.

A win over Stearns will see her play against Magdalena Frech, who went past Yuliia Starodubtseva. If Williams reaches the fourth round, she could schedule a clash with 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. In the quarterfinals, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion could meet last year’s US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula.

Williams last won a title at the 2016 Taiwan Open. Since then, she has played four finals, losing all. She last reached a final at the 2017 WTA Finals, which she lost to Caroline Wozniacki. It is worth noting that, Williams is playing at the Citi Open for the first time since 2012.

Also read: Goran Ivanisevic explains why Jannik Sinner defeated Novak Djokovic at the Wimbledon Championship