Black Tennis Pros

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Serena Williams can add another victory to her impressive list of accomplishments with the highly successful launch of Serena Williams Signature Statement, her new collection of fashion, accessories and jewelry on HSN and www.hsn.com. HSN viewers responded quickly to the stylish original designs with 25,000 pieces selling out after just 3 hours of air time during HSN's primetime debut (Thursday-Saturday morning) April 30 - May 2.

Serena Williams Signature Statement is a complete accessories collection including handbags, jewelry and apparel that ranges from $16.50 for the Signature Statement Rings of Bling Drop Earrings up to $99.95 for the Signature Statement Flowing Floral Reversible Maxi Dress.

During the launch, Serena modeled her collection, told charming anecdotes about the inspiration behind each piece and took calls from elated fans from around the country. Meanwhile, viewers snapped up pieces quickly, with 80% of the items selling out immediately. One of the most popular pieces was the famous Lucky Ring Serena wears during each of her winning matches. Additionally, nearly every handbag and fashion jewelry piece was spoken for by the end of her last show on Saturday morning.

"I love to make a statement both on and off the court. Passion, drive and hard work have taken me down this and many other creative paths throughout my life," said Serena. "As with tennis, it takes a lot of discipline and precision to make beautiful things come to life. This is a dream come true for me to share truly gorgeous things that I love with the world on HSN."

"Considering Serena's passion for fashion and the amount of energy she has devoted to this new collection it's not surprising that her debut on HSN was such a success," said Mindy Grossman, Chief Executive Officer, HSN, Inc. "She is a powerhouse both on and off the court and we can't wait to introduce new additions to the collection in the coming months."

Serena will continue to introduce new items to her Signature Statement collection at HSN, with the next collection out this fall. Visit hsn.com to see the collection, and to sign up for show alerts.

Visitors to Disneyland Paris today had a big surprise when they saw Mickey Mouse playing a game of doubles with invited children against professional tennis players Gael Monfils and Stansilas Wawrinka.

The court itself was a little short and had quasi-official dimensions, but that didn’t matter when the children had such a great event.

Disneyland Paris invited 200 children from the French “Fête le Mur” association, founded by Yannick Noah, to participate in this more than unusual exchange.

The Fête le Mur association is set up in the heart of 25 under-privileged Urban Zones, allows the children of those neighborhoods to practice tennis, to train and perfect themselves, and some of them to later find a professional opening.