"Can't put into words the sorrow that I feel" – Serena Williams pays emotional tribute to late friend and fashion designer Virgil Abloh

Serena Williams paid a touching tribute to her dear friend and fashion designer Virgil Abloh a year after his passing.

Serena Williams, who retired this year, collaborated with Virgil Abloh through Nike on numerous occasions. The tennis legend shared a post dedicated to the ground-breaking designer and expressed the sadness of her loss, while also noting how grateful she was to have collaborated with Abloh.

“It’s been a year and I still can’t put into words the sorrow that I feel. Your touch on the world will live on forever and I couldn’t be more grateful to have witnessed it and had the chance to collaborate with you. I still miss you all the time. Forever and ever Virgil Abloh,” she wrote.

Earlier, Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian too mourned the loss of the significant figure.

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"I should have did it!" - Serena Williams on Virgil Abloh’s idea for 2019 French Open

Serena Williams wears Virgil Abloh's creation at the 2019 French Open

Serena Williams collaborated with the Off-White designer for her look at the 2019 French Open. Earlier this year, the American athlete had revealed that she regretted not going through with Virgil Abloh’s original idea which involved a long skirt with a train and a cape with a train.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner said that she wasn’t confident about wearing the larger-than-life design on a tennis court at the time.

“So, the collaboration of the French Open, I still kind of regret not doing what Virgil told me to do. So, he wanted me to wear like, this long skirt with the crazy train and then a cape with a train and then just walk out on the court. And I’m thinking, ‘Virgil, I love fashion and I love pushing the envelope, but this, I just don’t think I can do this,” Serena Williams revealed earlier this year.

"And when I saw him, next time I was like, 'I should have did it. I just should have did it. I should have wore it.' And he’s like 'I told you!', and I’m like, 'I know but I just wasn’t brave enough to go out there and all the red clay and just walk out in basically this train of like a Met Gala at the French Open.' And I really wish I had have done that, you know?" she said, "But nonetheless, it was so cool, what was inside it, were these words written in French, I believe, like “mother” and “champion” and things that would help me stay inspired throughout the match, and they were all these really cool pieces."

The tennis player, however, reiterated that she should have gone ahead with the idea while paying tribute to the designer a year after he died of cancer on November 28, 2021.

“I should have did it! Virgil Abloh, you’re in our hearts and our memories forever,” she wrote.

Serena Williams on Instagram