American tennis legend Venus Williams‘ presence surely pushes any tennis player into extreme nervousness. After all, it is very intimidating to be in front of a WTA star who has a total of 21 Grand Slam titles including singles and doubles. The case wasn’t otherwise for Hollywood actress Zendaya who acted as a protagonist in a tennis-themed movie Challengers.

Zendaya’s LA premiere for Challengers was a star-studded event that saw Canadian tennis player Eugenie Bouchard grace the occasion. While Serena Williams was a no-show on the red carpet, her elder sister stole the show in a silvery shimmery off-white dress.

Zendaya was anxious upon hearing about Venus Williams’s presence at the Challengers LA premiere

In a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Zendaya candidly spoke about her nervousness when she heard that Venus Williams was attending her Challengers movie premiere. Zendaya said- “I was terrified. I found out that she was coming and I found out literally while I was there and people was like ‘Venus is here’ and I was like ‘whaaat’! First of all, I’m fangirling, I’m already excited just the thought, the fact, the honor that she would take her time to come and see this was so special to me.” Zendaya’s statement revealed that Venus Williams’s presence at her movie’s LA premiere was nothing less than a huge surprise.

Moreover, the famous Hollywood actress jokingly stated the reason for her nervousness in detail. She said- “But then I thought ‘ohhh I play tennis in this movie and I really hope that she is not distracted by my tennis abilities.” 

Zendaya also re-shared Venus Williams’s picture from her movie’s LA premiere on her social media. Her post had a cute caption that stated– “Wow wow wow…this is so special,” 

During the premiere when one reporter notified Zendaya about Venus Williams’ presence on the red carpet. Being amused, she said- “Venus Williams, yeah, I’m about to find her,” Surprisingly, Venus Williams also commented on it as the clip went viral on social media. Venus Williams wrote- “Update: @zendaya found me.”

Zendaya expressed her admiration for the Williams sisters’ contributions to tennis

This Hollywood actress told reporters that before this movie, her tennis knowledge was limited to Roger Federer and Williams sisters. Zendaya further opened up to Vogue about how she admires the William sisters’ grit to break free from, the the confines of their difficult circumstances and shine. This Challengers movie protagonist said- “Fu**ing all of it. The story, the amount of pressure, the microscope that they were under, the loneliness they must have felt—because it’s already lonely to be a tennis player, but to be a Black female tennis player, I can’t imagine,”

Zendaya’s adorable reaction to Venus Williams’s attendance at the Challengers LA premiere showcases the famous actress’s admiration for her. It also revealed the impact Venus Williams has created beyond the tennis world.

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