Serena Williams made her anticipated return to professional tennis this week at London’s HSBC Championships with her longtime partner Nike outfitting her in head-to-toe pink for the occasion. The sport icon laced up her own branded Nike Air Zoom Vapor X tennis shoes to ground her ensemble.

Williams often competes in NikeCourt Flare sneakers, her signature shoe with the athletic giant, but this time around opted for the Air Zoom Vapor X which features a low-profile Zoom unit offering cushioning and a raised lower panel on the medial forefoot which is meant to help with the dragging of a difficult match. The sneakers also feature a reinforced XDR (extra durable rubber) outsole providing durability and helping to enable quick direction changes. Williams wore the sneaker in a pink color palette with a black Swoosh contrasting it, and the looping script of her own Nike logo adorned the tongue.

Williams’ Air Zoom Vapor X shoes accompanied a pleated pink skirt, white tank top and pink jacket from Nike. The star athlete, who has 23 Grand Slam singles titles under her belt, is returning to professional tennis almost four years since her last match; Nike helped her tease the comeback with a video shared to social media. She is competing in doubles alongside Victoria Mboko from Canada.

Williams often uses her footwear to make style statements on the court, with just two standout examples being the Nike shoes made in collaboration with Virgil Abloh’s Off-White which she wore in 2018 and the NikeCourt Flare 2 sneakers showcasing a diamond-encrusted Swoosh and solid gold lace deubrés designed by Serena Williams Jewelry which she wore in 2022. Off court, you might find her wearing something like Aquazzura slingback pumps — she showcased the brand’s mesh Lune Sling 105 to promote her Prime Video docuseries “The CEO Club” in January.