Serena’s Diamonds Almost end up in the Rough

Bling if you must but make sure you do it on the right occasion would seem to be the lesson that should be learned by tennis superstar Serena Williams.

At her opening match at the U.S. Open on Monday the style-conscious former champion failed to keep her $40,000 diamond chandelier earrings in place, as one fell off early in the first set. She later removed the other one to focus on beating her 16-year-old opponent.

Williams played several games with just the left earring before finally removing it and handing it over to a ball girl who returned it during a changeover.

"I didn't put it on tight enough because I was rushing to go out (on court)," Williams explained afterwards. "It's a lot of bling to play with," she admitted. "You got to have the bling."

Not to be outdone, older sister Venus wore a necklace of pearls and turquoise during her opening match, but was unimpressed by Serena’s antics.

"I saw them," she said of her sister’s $40,000 earrings. "She told me they were real. I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from Serena Williams."

Top Russian player Maria Sharapova was also busy in the fashion stakes in the run-up to the start of the U.S. Open, as she introduced a new perfume and watch along with her tennis dress.

Some source material reprinted with permission from IDEX Magazine (http://www.idexonline.com/).