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TOPSHOT - US tennis player Venus Williams arrives for the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2026, in New York. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images)

Venus Williams joined an exclusive list of celebrities and sports icons who have been personally invited by Dame Anna Wintour to co-chair the Met Gala when she stepped onto the grand staircase of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her fellow co-chairs of the 2026 Met Gala, Beyonce and Nicole Kidman, formed the leadership team for fashion’s biggest annual event.

The 2026 gala celebrated the Costume Institute exhibition titled “Costume Art,” with the dress code set as “Fashion is Art” in an exploration of the intersections of fashion, identity, and the human body. In co-chairing the event, the tennis legend made history as one of the few professional female athletes to hold the title.

Venus Williams Co-Chairs 2026 Met Gala Alongside Beyonce and Nicole Kidman

GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 04: (L-R) Venus Williams and Andrea Preti attend the 2026 Met Gala celebrating “Costume Art” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 04, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)

As co-chair of the event, Venus Williams held a place of honor as one of the first individuals to walk down the iconic carpet of the 2026 Met Gala, and she did so alongside her husband, Andrea Pretti. In doing so, she debuted not only her designer partnership – a hallmark of the Met Gala’s pairing of designers with celebrity guests invited to represent fashion houses – she utilized her moment in fashion’s most prominent spotlight to unveil her recently announced partnership with Gatorade.

Focused on supporting greater research opportunities into women’s health, the partnership between Williams and Gatorade positions the tennis star as the brand new Gatorade-backed ‘Body of Science’  program’s inaugural ambassador, per People. As the ambassador for the program, Williams will be the face and diplomatic representation of the research endeavors undertaken by the program, which has a mission to fund research which will increase women’s health offerings as they pertain to sports science. The program will begin with a reach that spans the globe across several years, and the ambassador role held by Williams has already been confirmed for a multi-year contract.

“Introducing Gatorade’s multi-year commitment to help close the research gap with hydration and nutrition science built for her.” – Gatorade Body of Science

At the 2026 Met Gala, Venus Williams walked the carpet wearing an ensemble with several visual representations of 6%, the percentage of global sports science research which is currently conducted with an exclusive look into women’s health and the female body. Speaking about her attire for the evening, Williams said, “Everything that I’m wearing, all of my looks, are kind of telling this whole larger story about the 6% statistic. So we’re using the fabrics, we’re using the colors and all the creative to tell that story. And I think that after all of this, it’ll be the first steps towards education for men and women.”

Amanda Vining Amanda Vining is a career journalist with over 20 years of experience covering news for digital publications. More about Amanda Vining