Angel Reese emulates tennis icon with her recent career move

Angel Reese has been a household name in women's college basketball for the past two seasons. Reese transferred after two years at Maryland to play for Kim Mulkey at LSU. Her junior year was pure magic ending in a National Championship.

Reese's LSU team lost to Iowa on Monday night in the Elite Eight. Would it be the last time Reese would play NCAA basketball, or would she come back next year for her last year of eligibility?

Fans did not have to wait long to find out the answer. Reese is a charismatic personality who does things in a grand style, and she borrowed a move from a female tennis athlete whom she calls an inspiration to announce that she was entering the WNBA Draft.

Reese followed Serena Williams's footsteps with a lavish Vogue spread

The 6'3" Reese looks like a model in her Vogue feature. Wearing beautiful clothes and looking gorgeous, Reese said that she was inspired to go this route to make her major career announcement because Serena Williams did a Vogue spread when she announced that she was evolving away from tennis in September 2022.

Williams was flattered that Reese mentioned her. Serena and her sister Venus Williams are among the pioneers who combined interests on and off the court to grow their brand and image. Both of the Williams sisters are entrepreneurs and fashion icons so Reese is picking the right footsteps to follow.

Reese is not the only female athlete that followed Serena's path with a major career announcement. Last summer, Serena's good friend, Caroline Wozniacki also posed for Vogue while sharing the news that she was coming out of retirement and rejoining the WTA Tour.

Somewhere Billie Jean King is smiling about all of this publicity surrounding female athletes. She was among the true trailblazers lobbying for equal pay between women and men in tennis, and her tireless efforts transcended into other sports.

One more footnote on Reese, joining the WNBA will be an interesting adjustment. The opportunities, resources, money, and notoriety in professional women's basketball is nowhere near what she has been exposed to at LSU. If anyone can inject more excitement into the WNBA, it will be Reese along with her Iowa counterpart Caitlin Clark.

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