Photo Credit: Presley Ann/Getty
Serena Williams didn’t become the mega superstar that she is by having things handed down to her. She made the initiatives and showed the tennis world who is boss.
The tennis star has now teamed up with the dating and social networking app Bumble for a brand new campaign called “The Ball Is In Her Court”. Bumble terms and conditions are unique and set them apart from your typical dating app. The women are required to send the first message to their matches.
The partnership with the app kicks off this Sunday with Williams starring in Bumble’s first ever Super Bowl ad. In the ad, she calls on all women to make the first move not just on the app, but with anything in life.
“I think we’re taught as women sometimes that it’s OK to sit back and it’s OK to let someone come to you and it’s OK, you’ll get your opportunity because people will open the door and people will come to you.… But why not just grab it and take it and be the first and ask for it or go for our first move.”
Serena while raising her daughter with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian that she would emulate the same mantra as she gets older and becomes more aware of the world around her.
“We have to let them know we’re just as good — we work just as hard. I know I’ve been working since I was 3 years old picking up tennis rackets so I deserve the same treatment as everyone else.”
Bumble’s CEO and founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, 29, co-founded the original “swipe” dating app, Tinder, and in just four years has grown Bumble into a platform with more than 46 million users worldwide. To help boost the campaign Bumble has named Feb. 4 “First Move Day.”
For every first move made on the Bumble app that day, the company will donate to the Yetunde Price Resource Center – a community service center founded by Serena and her sister Venus that will connect residents affected by violence with service providers. The organization is named after their eldest sister, who lost her life to gun violence.