Tennis ace Serena Williams has finally kicked her online shopping habit after spending up to six hours a day on the internet. The US Open champion admits she “wasn’t able to stop” but has now put her credit cards away for good.
“It hit its worst at the French Open,” says Serena. “Every day I was in my room and I was online. I wasn’t able to stop and I bought, bought, bought, bought, bought.”
Serena turned to the internet to avoid shopping in public. “People always recognize me no matter where I go,” says the new blonde tennis star. “That’s why I changed the colour of my hair, so people wouldn’t recognize me as much. But it didn’t do any good, so I was like, OK, I’ll try the online thing and next thing I know, it’s fun and I was addicted.”
The 19-year-old would spend three hours shopping daily during tournaments, and six hours on off days, often buying clothes. “Things I didn’t need. I didn’t even wear them,” she says. “I was just out of control.”
“I also love sending people flowers,” she said recently. “It can get pretty expensive at times. And I love buying books online. I can’t wait to get home and open all the packages.”
To ensure she isn’t lured back into any form of home shopping, the reformed player jokes, “I throw all catalogs out now”.
Serena, currently ranked eighth in the world, has taken a month off since her quarter-final defeat at Wimbledon.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
