Venus Williams Barbie Doll To Be Released As Part of 'Inspiring Women' Collection

Legendary tennis star Venus Williams is getting her own Barbie doll as part of the iconic brand's new Inspiring Women collection.

The doll was revealed Wednesday in a post on Barbie's official Instagram account, along with the following caption:

"A masterful match. Venus Williams is a seven-time Grand Slam champ and an advocate for gender pay equity in sports, serving greatness on and off the court! Now, Barbie is proud to honor Venus as the newest Inspiring Women doll, available at Mattel Creations and major retailers August 15."

Per the Associated Press (h/t Tennis.com), it will mark the second time Williams' likeness has been released in Barbie form, as her first Barbie doll was part of a line of historic female athletes produced in conjunction with Barbie's 65th anniversary last year.

The latest doll will feature Venus in the outfit she wore at Wimbledon in 2007, which was her sixth of seven career Grand Slam singles titles.

According to the AP, that was an especially important tournament for Venus and women's tennis as a whole since it represented the first time a woman earned equal pay to the men at a Grand Slam tourney.

Venus is tied for the 12th-most Grand Slam singles titles in the history of women's tennis, plus she won another 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister, Serena Williams.

On top of that, Venus and Serena were the women's doubles gold medalists at the 2000, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, and Venus won singles gold at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.

Venus, 45, has only played sparingly in recent years, leading to speculation that she was on the verge of retirement.

However, she played in both the singles and doubles tournaments at the Washington Open last month, and she was granted a wild-card entry into the U.S. Open, which begins on Aug. 24.

Still, Venus' legendary career is nearing its conclusion, but with products such as Barbie recognizing her contributions to tennis and women's sports in general, it allows her to be appreciated by a new generation even if they may have never seen her play.