Serena Williams receives special tribute on International Women's Day as West Ham United star Michail Antonio wears jersey with American great's name

English football star Michail Antonio, who plays for West Ham United FC, paid tribute to Serena Williams on the occasion of International Women's Day. The entire team, including Antonio, celebrated the special day by sporting bespoke training kits, but Antonio stood out with his gesture.

15 players from the Premier League side celebrated Women's Day by wearing training kits that paid tribute to their mothers, with either 'Mum,' 'Mama' or their mothers' names on the back of their kits. However, Antonio decided to give a special shoutout to Williams, wearing a jersey that read "Serena Williams" on the back along with his kit number.

Antonio, who is West Ham United's all-time leading goal scorer in the Premier League, also expressed great admiration for Williams. Speaking about his choice of name for the Women's Day special training kit, Antonio said that he could have chosen from multiple inspirational women but decided to go with the American tennis legend.

"It was great to show our support for International Women’s Day. I could have chosen several inspirational women, but in the end, I picked Serena Williams as the name on my shirt for training," Michail Antonio said, as per a West Ham United club statement.

Antonio further spoke about Williams' influence, highlighting the 23-time Grand Slam champion's self-belief, talent, and mental strength.

"Serena was arguably the greatest tennis player of her generation, and really showed what you can do if you put your mind to something and believe in yourself. Her achievements speak for themselves really. She is such a talented individual," Antonio stated.

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Michail Antonio reminisces about the time he saw Serena Williams play against Venus Williams at Wimbledon

Venus and Serena Williams last played together at the 2022 US Open.

Michail Antonio, who was born in England but plays for the Jamaican national team, also recalled the time he saw his dream match at Wimbledon, where his idol Serena Williams faced her sister Venus Williams. That experience left Antonio highly inspired, and on Wednesday he called Williams a "role model for people everywhere."

"I managed to watch Serena play her sister, Venus, at Wimbledon a few years ago, and it was inspiring to see such a talented athlete in action. She’s a role model for a lot of athletes, fans and people everywhere," Antonio said.

While we do not know whether Williams has any sort of connection with English football, she is certainly connected to the sport in the United States. Williams is one of the co-owners of the Los Angeles-based National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) side Angel City FC.