Venus Williams has her sport wardrobe all lined up

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — You know the whole thing about a woman’s prerogative to change her mind? Venus Williams can’t do it — at least not when it comes to her tennis wardrobe.

She already knows that come August at the U.S. Open, she’ll be wearing a black floral tennis dress, and for tournaments earlier in the summer, it’ll be pink python prints. Williams wears almost exclusively her own line called EleVen, which she has helmed since 2007. Both looks are part of the fall collection, which Williams offered a preview of on Monday at a Manhattan photo studio. The spring collection that goes into stores later this month has some tie-dye prints, nautical stripes and a more painterly watercolor floral.

“When we are designing, I am narrowing down which ones I’m wearing. I have got to plan ahead. … The retailers want to know right away which ones I’ll be wearing,” she says. This decisiveness works for her and her busy life, she adds. “I have to be effective with my time.”

Last week, she was in South America playing in the Brazil Cup. Williams maintains a full schedule of tennis tournaments and appearances, although she did announce that she was diagnosed in 2011 with an autoimmune disease that slows her down.

Eventually, she’d like to