A chance tennis lesson from a sporting legend helped Kendall Baisden believe that anything was possible from the age of ten.
On that day almost two decades ago, her parents told her they were taking a trip from their Michigan home to New York. When they got there, they said she would be having a one-on-one tennis lesson from Richard Williams. By then, he’d helped make daughters Venus and Serena into champions.
The opportunity had come about as a stroke of luck after Baisden’s uncle was able to get his foot in the door through a link to the sisters’ management and his niece’s reputation for being a talented young player.
From athletics star to top model: How Kendall Baisden, 28, went from sprinting track to walking runways after an inspirational encounter with Serena Williams’ tennis coach dad
Kendall Baisden is a star athlete taking on the fashion world as a model
She started competing in tennis at a young age before moving to track events
At 28, she’s now juggling a career in modelling while preparing for Paris 2024
By FIONA CONNOR SENIOR REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
A chance tennis lesson from a sporting legend helped Kendall Baisden believe that anything was possible from the age of ten.
On that day almost two decades ago, her parents told her they were taking a trip from their Michigan home to New York. When they got there, they said she would be having a one-on-one tennis lesson from Richard Williams. By then, he’d helped make daughters Venus and Serena into champions.
The opportunity had come about as a stroke of luck after Baisden’s uncle was able to get his foot in the door through a link to the sisters’ management and his niece’s reputation for being a talented young player.
Baisden, 28, says the encounter with Williams was ‘a defining moment’ that ignited her self-belief. She went on to become a champion sprinter at the Pan American Games and has now taken on the fashion world, walking in Paris and Milan.
‘It was a one time thing but it was very impactful,’ Baisden told DailyMail.com. ‘It just came out of the blue and that was the surreal aspect. But that environment on the court, having a conversation, getting tips on my technique, I saw improvement straight away. It was exhilarating.’
