American tennis player Serena Williams is the star of the latest commercial for Beats By Dre. The three-minute clip, titled "Rise", shows the world famous tennis star dealing with the recent doubts and past pains of her career.
The commercial flips between shots of Williams running while wearing her Beats headphones, with archive footage of some of the contentious moments from her playing career. The soundtrack is provided by R&B star Andra Day, with her song "Rise Up".
In the past, Williams has faced comments made about her gender, race and body shape. In October 2014, Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpischev was fined $25,000 and forced to publicly apologise after describing Serena and her sister Venus as the "Williams brothers." During Wimbledon this year a New York Times article was criticized widely on social media after it appeared to condemn Serena's body shape.
Williams has also recently featured in a commercial for U.S. drinks manufacturer Gatorade. Through a montage of old clips, the advert tells the story of Serena's journey from her youth training in Compton, California, to her recent success in Grand Slam competitions across the world.
She is currently playing in the U.S. Open in New York. She beat fellow countrywoman Madison Keys on Sunday to progress into the quarter-final where she will play her sister Venus. If Williams wins the tournament she will the first to take a calendar grand slam in women's tennis in 27 years.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
