Venus Williams has become a global brand ambassador for K-Swiss.

The 40-year-old Olympic gold medalist is the face of the tennis apparel and footwear brand's 'Club K-Swiss’ campaign, and has also co-designed her own limited edition capsule collection by K-Swiss and her own EleVen by Venus Williams activewear and lifestyle brand.

The 12-piece collection - which is available now over on kswiss.com - includes a varsity sweater, tank top, striped leggings, a hoodie, and jogging bottoms, plus the K-Swiss Classic 66x EleVen by Venus Williams shoe.

Venus - who launched her lifestyle venture back in 2007 - told WWD: “K-Swiss is such an iconic brand both on and off the court, and I saw a lot of synergy with my own lifestyle brand, EleVen by Venus Williams. Both brands celebrate boldness, especially of women, and I was excited to collaborate on what turned out to be a really special, unique and exciting collection. It’s different from anything else out there right now. I think people will love it.”

As well as mixing bold colour combinations, Venus insisted it was important to create pieces that are “functional” to “support the highest level of performance”.

She said: “We wanted this to be a marriage between the two brand styles, so we took classic looks but used surprising design elements to make them eye-catching. We added in a beautiful mint green amongst traditional blues and grey or experimented with unique plaid patterns to make sure it was a combination of both brands.

“Of course the look of the pieces is important, but they also needed to be functional and be able to support the highest level of performance."

And the sports star admitted she has felt "more confident" wearing the collection during her training session on the court and hailed the capsule a "total game-changer".

She added: “I’m already wearing the K-Swiss x EleVen by Venus Williams capsule collection on the court during training, and I can attest to the fact that it is a total game-changer. Like my other EleVen collections, this one was designed for high-level performance so I trust that it will be able to keep up with every forehand, backhand, volley, cross-court sprint — you name it, and I know any EleVen outfit can handle it.

“These pieces are as functional as they are fashionable and when I compete, I want to look and feel my best. I definitely feel more confident when I wear our designs, and this K-Swiss x EleVen by Venus Williams collection is no exception.”

Gabriella Gomez, global marketing director at K-Swiss, commented: “As an athlete and entrepreneur her entire career, Venus Williams is a natural partner for K-Swiss. Venus is a true visionary, but she doesn’t stop at the creative work, she’s actively involved in every other element of business as well. Together we are curating the concept of ‘tennis as a lifestyle,’ and the collections we are building on are designed for ambitious women with an ath-leisure twist.”