The American tennis player is passionate about bringing women of all backgrounds together.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands is a mainstay in the American tennis world. She's a former world no. 1 in doubles, having won five Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She also won gold in mixed doubles at the 2016 Olympics with fellow American Jack Sock.
But we're not here to recount her career; we're here because Mattek-Sands turned heads last night at the U.S. Open when she appeared on the ESPN broadcast wearing a William Goldberg diamond necklace, Jacquemus shoes, and a Dolce & Gabbana fit.
The mix of tennis and fashion is not new for Mattek-Sands—here's everything you need to know about the star.
Mattek-Sands began playing tennis at age 5, and made her pro debut at age 14. According to her bio on the Team USA website, she is "often referred to as America's Tennis Rock Star for her colorful apparel and hair and signature knee-high compression socks." Though she started playing in 1999, she joined the WTA full-time in 2005.
In 2008, she married Justin Sands and changed her name from Bethanie Mattek to Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
In women's doubles, she's won 27 career titles—including five Grand Slams, and in mixed doubles she's won two Grand Slams and a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Mattek-Sands hasn't played yet a professional match in 2022, but she has said she is not retired. She did participate in the "Legends Match" during U.S. Open's fan week, which takes place before the tournament begins, and typically features retired players.
"We started this initiative for getting this glamorous, but still mission-forward event going with women supporting women," Mattek-Sands told Town & Country. "We're really excited to kick it off in New York, then build it up for some other events next year." Mattek-Sands is passionate about helping women network and in particular, connecting tennis players with other industries—fashion, business, politics.
"I feel like as an individual athlete, we aren't always looking to network, and see what else is out there," she says. "I feel that was missing." She recently co-hosted the first event with Shilpa Yarlagadda, who co-founded jewelry company Shiffon during her freshman year at Harvard.
"I hope the girls can come to an event like this, feel beautiful, have all the details that they want, and feel like they can be free with conversations—and maybe even meet a mentor," Mattek-Sands said of her dreams for the series. Tennis players in attendance (and looking very glamorous) at the first event included Jessica Pegula, Zhang Shuai, Shelby Rogers, Ajla Tomljanovic, Belinda Bencic, and Donna Vekic.
As Mattek-Sands wrote on her Instagram after the first Ladies Night, "Our vision was to curate an amazing experience that left everyone feeling energized and inspired by the time the music stopped. There truly are so many female role models to look up to and although some may have bigger platforms than others, ALL have been trail blazers and deserve to be elevated!"
Emily Burack (she/her) is the news writer for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
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