She slayed the newest Sports Illustrated cover. She made history as Sportsperson of the Year. And now, Serena Williams is serving on the red carpet at SI’s Sportsperson of the Year ceremony held last night. Peep the arrival of our "superwoman" inside….
*snap* *snap* *snap* Werk!
21-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams stepped out looking fierce at Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year Ceremony held at Pier 60 in NYC last night.
Chick turned the heat all the way up exposing her flawless skin and perfectly toned legs in a custom created ensemble. The 34-year-old athlete collaborated with designer Aaron Gray and her own Serena Williams Signature Collection for her super sexy gown. The lace detailing, the train...we're loving it all. The textured bob brought the whole look together fabulously.
Here's a peek at the back:
Hot.
Back on the carpet...
'Rena’s sister Venus Williams came out to support her sister rocking a dress from Serena’s Signature Collection. How sweet. Venus was tapped to introduce her sister before she accepted the Sportsperson of the Year Award.
Like most proud family members, Serena’s mom and sisters were there to show their support. Mama Oracene Price snapped it up on the carpet with her two tennis champion daughters and their sisters Lyndrea Price and Isha Price.
Supermodel Chanel Iman was also in the mix looking like a golden goddess.
As Serena made her way down the carpet, she bumped into another extraordinary YBF athlete. 15-year-old swimming phenom Reece Whitley was named SI Kids Sportskid of the Year. If you haven’t already, catch up on this YBF fresh face and all of his greatness HERE.
On stage...
Venus took the podium to introduce her sister and it went a little something like this:
.@Venuseswilliams had a number of touching moments congratulating @serenawilliams on winning #SISportsperson: https://t.co/xXS4vMuQyk
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 16, 2015
The No. 1 women’s tennis champ then walked up to the podium to accept her award and to give her acceptance speech. Below are a few quotes from her speech:
"I've had people look down on me because I don't look like them. I look stronger."
"For all the ladies out there, yes we can do it … My hope [that] by winning this award [I] can inspire many many many more women."
"I said I wanted to win Wimbledon because Venus said she wanted to win Wimbledon and my dad yelled at me, he's like 'Serena stop copying Venus'…so then I said I wanted to win the US Open…and so that's how that kind of came about".
"I still have goals and I still have dreams of winning and this award makes me actually want to work harder to reach more goals."
"I've had my shares of ups and downs I've had many struggles…I've lived through tragedies and controversies and horses.”
Nice!
Also hitting the stage...
Concussion star Will Smith was tapped to present. He gave a special tribute to the legacy of boxer Muhammad Ali and was on hand as part of the first ever Muhammad Ali Legacy Award presentation to legendary golfer, Jack Nicklaus.
At one point while he was on stage, he gave a shoutout to YBF kid swimmer Reece Whitley, who is a Philly native like Will. Check it:
"It's like me and him and Rocky." Will Smith realizes SI SportsKid of the Year @_reecewhitley is also from Philly: https://t.co/rcmxtyoIum
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 16, 2015
Serena and Reece then snapped it up with all of the evening's honorees.
And Reese even nabbed a selfie with Will. Fun times.
Photos: Getty/Splash/WENN
