Downy teams up with one of greatest tennis champions of all time, Venus Williams

By the age of four, Venus Williams began playing tennis. Just 10 years later, she turned professional at the age of 14. Williams grew up in Compton, California, a state known for its high temperature.

On the tennis blacktop the heat intensity was real for Williams while training and competing.

"My clothes go through a lot, and I like to wear a lot of white, too, because of the heat since you're just cooler on the court. I try to use a towel as much as I can, but even the towels get soaked," Williams said. "You can imagine the conditions are intense. But the good news is whenever you go and play somewhere else where its not hot you're just cruising, you're in the best shape."

The partnership between Downy Rinse & Refresh and Williams is the perfect match.

To help launch the campaign, there is a pop-up event in New York City where fans can go and receive samples of the product and participate in a 'Sweat & Serve' challenge where they can see how they match up to Venus' fastest tennis serve which was 129 mph.

Williams has a lot going on right now off the tennis court along with the launch of her partnership with Downy. She also has a book coming out called STRIVE which aims to help readers achieve the lifestyle they want by using a set of principles in their lives. Williams is using her knowledge of health and wellness as an athlete to benefit her supporters as well.

"Writing a book is a labor of love. It takes years, so it's not something I took lightly," Williams said. STRIVE is set to be released on Sept. 10.

She has never taken anything lightly that has come her way. Her work and accomplishments back it up. The seven Grand Slam singles titles weren't earned easily for her. Only three years after turning professional, she reached her first major final at the 1997 U.S. Open at the age of 17. While she didn't leave the Open with a championship, she left with the experience and knowledge of what she needed to do next. That was only the beginning of her legendary career.

Many can argue that Venus alongside her sister Serena revolutionized the game of tennis. Venus reached the singles world No. 1 ranking in 2002 and became the first African American woman to do so in the Open era. While the two sisters found themselves against one another multiple times on the big stage, they always showed support and nothing but love to each other.

What Williams embraces so much about the platform she holds and how she can be herself. While she played a crucial part in the growth of women's sports and is appreciated and respected by others, she embraces it because it embraces her right back.

"Whatever we did, we were just being ourselves. So maybe the best way to continue our arise as female athletes is just to continue to be authentic and free," Williams said.

By being herself she became the first woman to benefit from the equalization of prize money at Wimbledon when she won the 2007 tournament. During her run in the tournament, she fought for equality alongside the other female tennis players both active and retired during the time.

Another way that Williams shows her authenticity is through her fashion. Every few years, she finds herself getting bored of her clothing and decides she needs to switch it up. So, she will start out on Pinterest and create a board, then go out and reinvent herself. Her style constantly changes, yet she still wears mainly white on the tennis blacktop.

She has vocalized so much about a lifestyle where everyone should prioritize taking care of their body. But what many don't know is that Williams had to change her entire diet in 2011 due to a diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome.

Due to the diagnosis, she had to adopt a vegan diet and reduce her intake of calories and sugars when she returned to training for tennis. The autoimmune disease caused Williams fatigue and muscle joint pain. Through the change in diet and lifestyle, Venus still pushed through.

"There were a lot of days where I didn't have a lot, and I had to reframe it and tell myself every day adds up. Whatever I give today will add up tomorrow," said Williams. "Life is going to have challenges, and you're going to have injuries as an athlete, and those challenges are not going to be fun, but if you can frame it in a way that you're learning from it, it's what sports are about. It's a game of life."