Venus Williams to co-chair 2026 Met Gala with Beyoncé and Nicole Kidman

Venus Williams will be serving up style on one of fashion's biggest nights next year.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion will co-chair the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Met Gala in 2026, it was announced on Wednesday. Williams will join singer Beyoncé, actor Nicole Kidman, and former longtime editor-in-chief of Vogue Anna Wintour in the ceremonial role on May 4.

Williams will be the third former WTA World No. 1 in recent years to co-chair the star-studded affair, a pop-culture behemoth that raises funds annually to benefit of the museum's Costume Institute in New York City. Her younger sister Serena served as co-chair in 2019 and Naomi Osaka took on the responsibility in 2021. ATP legend Roger Federer also held the role in 2023.

Williams and her fellow co-chairs -- whom Vogue hailed as "major forces from the worlds of entertainment, sport, and, of course, fashion" in its story announcing them -- will collaborate on a theme entitled “Costume Art." Also according to the magazine, the theme will "explore the relationship between clothing and the body beneath."

"The show -- organized into a series of thematic body types, ranging from the Naked Body to the Pregnant Body and the Aging Body -- will include garments and artworks from across The Met’s vast collection, and feature both historical and contemporary pieces from the Costume Institute," it says.

Williams has been a fixture on the Met Gala red carpet in recent years, attending four of the last five. Last spring, she styled her look around tennis in celebration of a "Superfine" theme, and wore a custom skirt, polo, and cape by Lacoste.