Venus Williams Brings Glam and Gravitas to TNT Sports 2025 French Open Coverage

Venus showcases her humor, insight and fashion sense while bringing perspective and history to the TNT Sports coverage at Roland Garros.

Venus Williams, Coco Gauff, and Sloane Stephens had no idea they would create an iconic moment when they sat on the TNT Sports set in Paris for the 2025 French Open coverage.

Gauff arrived after winning her second-round match. Stephens provides courtside and in-studio commentary, and Williams hosts “Roland with Venus,” a lifestyle segment. Together, they represent American tennis's past, present, and future and the contributions black women made to growing the game.

TNT Sports commentator Chris Eubanks recognized the historical element of the moment.

"It's a really cool scene here to see three of the greatest in the history of women's tennis all sitting beside each other, three incredibly, just profound black women who've done great things in this sport," Eubanks said.

To put this impromptu moment in perspective, consider that Williams, Stephens, and Sloane represent nine Grand Slam titles. Throw in Madison Keys, and black women have 10 of the 11 Major titles held by active American WTA Tour players. (Sofia Kenin won the 2020 Australian Open.)

The panel proves how Venus and Serena changed the complexion of the game. Althea Gibson was the first black woman to win a Grand Slam title. Forty-one years passed between Serena's first Grand Slam title in 1999 and Gibson's last in 1958. Gibson retired before the Open Era, and a black woman didn't reach a Grand Slam final again until Zina Garrison at Wimbledon in 1990.

Since Venus and Serena arrived, black women have won 37 Grand Slam singles and 17 doubles titles. (Coco Gauff won one, and Taylor Townsend won two doubles titles, with Kateřina Siniaková as their partner.)

More African American women played in the French Open on Thursday — Coco Gauff, Alycia Parks, Hailey Baptiste, Robin Montgomery, Madison Keys, Asia Muhammed and Taylor Townsend — than African American men in baseball's World Series last year.

Roland With Venus

Venus’s “Roland with Venus” provides the fun side of the more serious sister. Forever the entrepreneur, Venus wears Lacoste fashions for all her segments. She's been an ambassador for the brand for the last few years.

Lefkoe asked Venus, Sloane, and Coco about their fashion choices and how they changed the game.

“I think fashion is a way to express yourself without having to speak per se,” said Stephens. “I think in tennis, everything has been kind of, you know, status quo, white shirts, polos. It's very basic. And I think being able to wear things that make you feel good and make you feel happy, and the colors are bright, and all of those things, it actually. . .brings the best out of you.”

Gauff shared that Venus and Serena inspired her to incorporate fashion into her on-court persona.

“And also I feel like being a black woman in this sport, like so much a part of our culture is fashion, and I wanted to bring some of that and continue to bring some of that into our sport,” Gauff said.

Venus’s voice is calm and comforting. She’s such a natural in the studio that you wish she were providing commentary during the matches.

She is more than a tennis icon; she’s a fashionista with her own Barbie Doll and owns an interior design company, V Starr Interiors. Although I miss seeing Venus on the courts in competition, it’s nice to have her voice in the French Open coverage, especially when so many icons are leaving the game.