Serena Williams and A’ja Wilson define girl power in women’s sports, and this week showed two sides of it. Williams’ 2005 Australian Open outfit is now a Barbie doll, a toy-aisle tribute to a legacy already secured. Wilson, still competing for hers, won a record fifth MVP and declined a pregame ceremony to focus on an elimination game. That fifth award, her third in a row, is a first in WNBA history.
Girl power can sound like a slogan, so the proof matters. Williams owns 23 Grand Slam singles titles and an all-time résumé. Wilson owns a record five MVP trophies at age 30. Together, they show girls what sustained greatness looks like on two very different courts.
Greatness is the foundation. Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and 14 more in doubles, a total of 39 majors. Wilson collected 65 of 74 first-place MVP votes this season. Both women earned their platforms through results first.
The label only means something when the résumé backs it up. Williams and Wilson built theirs by winning again and again while women’s sports fought for attention and pay. Their success gives girls a simple lesson: the standard is excellence, not permission. Wilson has added three WNBA titles and two Finals MVP awards.
Mattel released the doll just ahead of International Day of the Girl on Oct. 11. The $45 Signature doll wears the green-and-white outfit Williams wore at the 2005 Australian Open, where she won her seventh Grand Slam singles title. That tournament included a semifinal comeback against Maria Sharapova in which Williams saved three match points.
The doll is the second Williams Barbie this year. The first, released in March, highlighted her work as an investor and entrepreneur. This one celebrates tennis. That matters because girls need to see the athlete, not only the brand. Williams described the pair as the business side and the sports side of who she is.
Wilson averaged 26.2 points and led the league in both scoring and blocks. She also became the first WNBA player to average 25 points while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from three. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with six NBA MVP awards, has more MVPs across both leagues.
Wilson also declined a pregame ceremony for the trophy because Las Vegas faces elimination against Golden State in Friday’s Game Three. That choice says more about her than the award does. Her 26.2 scoring average trails only her own 26.9 from 2024 in league history, yet Friday’s game still came first. Girl power, in Wilson’s case, looks like a champion refusing to celebrate until the work is done.
Representation works when girls can see it and hold it. Williams said she can play with her new doll alongside her daughters, a small image that makes a big point. Girls who grow up watching Wilson block shots and collect MVP trophies absorb the same lesson: women can lead any arena.
Milestones like these matter beyond the box score. Williams is a mother whose doll now sits in toy aisles, and Wilson is a 30-year-old who keeps breaking records. Different sports, different generations, same message: girls belong at the top.
International Day of the Girl is this Sunday, and Mattel made sure to time Williams’ doll to it. Mattel said Barbie has always inspired girls to believe they can be anything. A doll can plant that idea. Protection has to keep it alive.
Look no further than Coco Gauff, who faced racist abuse at the China Open this month. Williams and Wilson show girls what celebration looks like, and Gauff’s ordeal shows how much defending still needs to happen. Cheering for women in sports means standing up when they are targeted. Girl power should include a shield.
Williams and Wilson define girl power because they pair elite results with influence that reaches far beyond the court. Williams has a second Barbie, 23 Grand Slam singles titles and a legacy girls can hold in their hands. Wilson has a record fifth MVP and a refusal to settle.
The standard for girl power is not a slogan or a product line. It is winning, leading, and standing up for the next girl in line. Gauff’s ordeal this month proves the fight is not finished, and the sports world must keep showing up for the girls who follow. Williams and Wilson set the bar, and everyone else should meet it.
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