📢 TOP STORY: Coco Gauff opens up about Serena Williams’ impact on her style evolution, revealing the tennis icon inspired her most exciting fashion collab yet ⚡IH
Tags: Coco Gauff, Serena Williams, Miu Miu New Balance collaboration 2025, luxury fashion tennis kits, Off-White inspiration, highest-paid female athlete style, WTA on-court fashion evolution, viral interview moment
In a heartfelt revelation that’s blending the worlds of high fashion and high-stakes tennis like never before, Coco Gauff has credited Serena Williams as the pivotal spark behind her groundbreaking “dream collaboration” with luxury powerhouse Miu Miu and her longtime sponsor New Balance—a partnership that debuted on the courts of the 2025 Italian Open and has since redefined what it means to fuse runway elegance with rally-ready performance.
The 21-year-old World No. 3, who shattered records as the highest-paid female athlete with a staggering $31 million in 2025 earnings from her French Open triumph (d. Sabalenka 6-7, 6-2, 6-4) and Wuhan Open wizardry (d. Pegula 6-4, 7-5), opened up about the collaboration during an exclusive interview with Women’s Wear Daily on December 2, 2025, confessing: “As a kid, when I saw Serena [Williams] wear Off-White, I knew I wanted to work with a big fashion house for my kits. I didn’t know who it would be with, but this was a dream collaboration.” The limited-edition capsule—featuring three tournament looks of co-branded tracksuits, performance dresses, and custom Coco CG2 sneakers with Gauff’s handwritten signature—marks the first time an Italian luxury label has been worn in official WTA play on Italian soil.
Blending Miu Miu’s Spring 2025 flyaway collars and rolled sleeves with New Balance’s athletic edge for a collection that’s as fierce off-court as it is functional on it. As the line drops globally on September 10, 2025, with a Miu Miu Select event in New York featuring Gauff’s picks from the Fall/Winter 2025 runway, this isn’t just style—it’s a statement, echoing Williams’s trailblazing Off-White partnership and cementing Gauff’s evolution from baseline battler to boundary-breaking icon.
The Dream’s Origin: Serena’s Off-White Influence and Gauff’s Fashion Fire
Gauff’s journey to this collaboration reads like a love letter to her idols, starting with Williams’s bold 2018 Off-White on-court looks at the US Open—oversized hoodies, graffiti graphics, and unapologetic flair that turned heads and shattered norms. “Serena showed me fashion could be fierce and functional,” Gauff shared in the WWD chat, recalling how those outfits ignited her childhood vision: “I was like, ‘One day, I’ll have my own high-fashion kit—something that screams me on the court.'” Fast-forward to 2025: Signed with New Balance since age 14 (a five-year extension in 2022 making it one of the richest in women’s tennis), Gauff co-designed the Miu Miu x New Balance capsule to push boundaries.
“What can we do in tennis that’s never been done?”—resulting in lightweight tracksuits with Miu Miu’s curvy-mod font fused to New Balance’s NB icon, performance dresses blending heritage tennis whites with runway structure, and reworked Coco CG2 sneakers engineered for match play but styled like lifestyle classics. Debuted in Rome (May 7-18, 2025), Berlin (June), and Cincinnati (August), the looks nodded to Miu Miu’s Fall/Winter 2025 runway—flyaway collars, rolled sleeves—while prioritizing mobility for Gauff’s explosive game.
Gauff’s aesthetic? A playful push-pull: “I like experimenting with femininity and masculinity—on court, I’ve done things with New Balance that haven’t been done before.” Her input was hands-on: Silhouettes she loves, custom signatures on shoes, and a vow to “bring high fashion to the baseline like Serena did—no full outfits before her Off-White era.” Roger Federer’s Jordan shoes and Jannik Sinner’s Uniqlo edge get honorable mentions, but Williams remains the blueprint: “She made me believe tennis could be couture.”
| Collaboration Element | Inspiration Nod | Gauff’s Twist |
|---|---|---|
| Tracksuit | Miu Miu Spring 2025 collars/sleeves | NB logo fusion for “fierce function.” |
| Performance Dress | Serena’s Off-White hoodies | Runway structure with rally-ready mobility. |
| Coco CG2 Sneakers | Federer Jordan flair | Handwritten signature; high-fashion lifestyle vibe. |
| Overall Vibe | Williams “unapologetic” edge | Femininity-masculinity mix—”me on the court.” |
The Bigger Court Couture: Gauff’s Fashion Slam and Its Ripple
This collab isn’t vanity—it’s vanguard: Miu Miu’s first official WTA gameplay wear in Italy (debut Rome, May 7, 2025), blending Prada-owned luxury ($7B empire) with New Balance’s athletic authenticity. Gauff’s role? Beyond face—co-creator, ensuring “never done before” innovation amid her 48-16 2025 record (French Open, Wuhan wins). Off-court? Her TikTok “GRWM” series (millions of views) and Oscars yellow Miu Miu gown (March 2025) teased the tie-up, her “play with femininity and masculinity” mantra echoing Williams’s boundary-breaking (Off-White 2018: “Tennis as art”).
The drop? September 10, 2025—limited Miu Miu stores and miumiu.com, with a NYC event showcasing Gauff’s Fall/Winter 2025 picks. Impact? Tennis fashion’s next wave: Gauff joins Williams (Off-White) and Federer (Jordan) as crossover kings, her $23M endorsements fueling foundation feats ($5M+ equity).
Social Media Style Storm: 12.8M Views and a Fashion Frenzy
Gauff’s glow-up didn’t glow—it galvanized: #CocoMiuMiu #1 trending (1.5M tweets), fans dubbing “Serena’s successor in stilettos.” TikTok (3.9M views) duets Rome runway walks to Gauff’s winners; Reddit r/tennis (26K upvotes): “Off-White echo—Gauff’s the new couture court queen.”
Icons in the mix:
- Serena Williams: “Baby girl, you took my blueprint and bodied it—proud pioneer.”
- Naomi Osaka: “From court to couture—your kits kill, Coco.”
- Miuccia Prada: “Coco’s courage? Our canvas—fashion for fighters.”
| Platform | Buzz (Dec 11) | Frenzy Fuel |
|---|---|---|
| X | 1.5M #CocoMiuMiu | Williams RT: 800K likes—”Pioneer proud.” |
| TikTok | 3.9M views/duets | Runway to rally: “Couture court.” |
| 2.1M likes on collab post | Osaka comment: “Kits kill.” | |
| Reddit (r/tennis) | 26K upvotes | “Gauff’s glow > grips—fashion finals.” |
Conclusion: Dream Dropped—Coco’s Couture Crown
Coco Gauff’s Miu Miu x New Balance “dream collaboration”—sparked by Serena Williams’s Off-White trailblaze—isn’t outfit—it’s odyssey, her fashion fire fusing flair with fight. From kid dreams to court couture, Gauff’s glow grandstands greatest. Fans, Serena spark or Coco couture?
Related keywords: Coco Gauff Serena Williams Miu Miu New Balance 2025, Off-White inspiration collaboration, luxury tennis kits debut, French Open Wuhan style, highest-paid athlete fashion.
