I would say the first half of my career, I was really too afraid to own up to what I wanted to do. And then the second half, I was just loving wearing that eyeliner. Some years it was just on top; some years it was top and bottom. I would just go all out. Mascara [was key], and also finding a brow I could wear full-time that, no matter how hard I wiped, it wouldn’t move. And then lips: Eventually, I’d just wear a lip color to give me some sort of color on the court.
Millions of people could be watching your final, and that’s the only time they’ll see you. So I’m trying to figure out a way to best represent myself. That’s my red-carpet moment.
You mastered the post-match reset. How do you describe that ritual?
I would have everything that I needed in my kit: a little concealer, mascara, some blush, an eyebrow, obviously a lip. Sometimes my lip was my blush, if I was in such a hurry. Imagine: You get off of a match. You have to remove your tape, shower, and do your makeup all in 10 or 15 minutes. Time was of the essence before you’d show up at your press conference. It was really intense.
I had it down to a science—just apply, rub, smooth. Next, next, next. It got easier in the second half of my career because I would already have my eyeliner and mascara on from the match. Sometimes I would mix my foundation and some sun cream together, and I would just have that on. I like what we created at Wyn Beauty—I really wanted to get our skin tint right. Another thing that was super important to me was the liner. Getting that waterproof and clean wasn’t easy at all. I really watch what I put in my body, and I really watch what I want to put on my face now. Some of the products, they said it was going to be too difficult or take too much time. But we were like, “We’re not in a rush. We can wait a year or two—whatever it takes.”
Tell me about the brand’s signature chartreuse—the obvious, the metaphorical?
The obvious tie is definitely the tennis ball. The not so obvious: The reason I didn’t continue to play tennis is I wanted to grow my family. But I didn’t like the word retirement. I was kind of evolving. So it’s like my tennis ball kind of evolved into this beauty [line], just bringing that championship mentality [into] everyday life. Active beauty for everyday people to be able to use every single day and still feel amazing—that is what I wanted to champion. There’s more to the story than just the tennis ball green.
On the heels of the athleisure wave, “active beauty” is an interesting phrase. What does active look like for you these days?
My day started today at 7:30 a.m. I woke up late. “Mom, we slept in.” And I was like, “Yeah, we did. Let’s get up.” So being active is going all day. I’m not going to have an opportunity to be back home until the end of the day, when it’s time for me to make dinner. I don’t have time to just do self-care. This is real life, when all the beauty and the glitz and the glam comes off. I don’t have time to have a full-on face of my amazing red-carpet makeup that I would love to have. It also isn’t realistic for me to show up to a grocery store like that.
This is Wyn Beauty: You can win in it and you can be active all day, like I have been. I can go do grocery runs; I can do toy runs if I want to. I can go pick up my daughter from school, and I have my face on. It’s an everyday look, but it still has full coverage. It still has longevity and it’s clean. That’s what I mean by active. You don’t have to be a world-class tennis player. I mean, you can be, by the way. [Laughs.] But everyday lives of everyday people are so active.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.