Beyoncé and Serena Williams have collaborated yet again.
Gatorade’s new ad dedicated to the tennis champ premiered during the MTV Video Music Awards last night, with narration from the “Renaissance” star herself, Queen Bey.
Jake Nava directed the commercial titled “For Serena, With Love,” according to Variety. Nava also directed Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” music video. The extended version of the commercial, released Monday morning, highlights moments in Williams’ historic tennis career and comes on the heels of her recent retirement announcement. “When the world writes her down in history, we’ll begin where she started…at love,” Knowles narrates at the top of the clip.
“It’s a love that we’ll remember through the generations, a love that started a movement, a movement to always love exactly who you are and who you can be,” she continues in the commercial. “To be so in love with your identity, that your very essence cannot be contained.” Much like her visual albums, “LEMONADE” and “Beyoncé,” the singer speaks with emotion and clarity while describing Williams.
“To feel like a queen, unapologetically, with the crown indefinitely,” she continues. “To always love being a proud Black woman, a parent, a dreamer. To always love being you – a whole you, the real you. To always love you.”
Check out the powerful clip below:
Underneath the video on their official Youtube page, Gatorade shared a statement about Williams. It reads: “Serena Williams has shown us the power of love – for yourself and everything you do. Her self-belief has been an inspiration to everyone, but especially young women of color. She has started a movement – to realize that you can do anything if you have self-love.” Gatorade also linked to their new collaboration bottle with Williams.
Williams and Beyoncé certainly have a shared history together, publicly supporting each other’s careers. Knowles has attended many of Williams’ historic matches and recently sang the theme song to “King Richard,” the film based on Williams’ upbringing. Williams appeared in the Grammy winner’s music video for “SORRY” in 2016.
Earlier this month, Williams announced her life’s next chapter in an essay accompanying her September cover issue of Vogue. She wrote, “I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give.” She detailed her decision to step back from tennis after winning 23 Grand Slam titles and becoming one of the greatest to ever play the sport. She added in the essay, “These days, if I have to choose between building my tennis resume and building my family, I choose the latter.”
Check out the full feature here.
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