American tennis great Serena Williams took the Internet by storm on Sunday by posing topless for a video while singing "I Touch Myself" to raise awareness for breast cancer.
Serena, 37, shared the video on her social media pages, saying she has recorded a version of Australian band The Divinyls' 1991 global hit ‘I Touch Myself’ for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to remind women to self-check regularly.
Taking to her Instagram she said: "Yes, this put me out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to do it because it’s an issue that affects all women of all colours, all around the world.
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"Early detection is key – it saves so many lives. I just hope this helps to remind women of that."
According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths worldwide, accounting for an estimated 627,000 deaths from 2.09 million cases.
The song was co-written by Divinyls Australian vocalist Chrissy Amphlett who died of breast cancer five years ago aged 53.
"The music video is part of the I Touch Myself Project which was created in honour of celebrated diva, Chrissy Amphlett, who passed away from breast cancer, and who gave us her hit song to remind women to put their health first," said the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
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Amphlett died in 2013 at the age of 53.
Fans lauded the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion for her bravery and the posts on Twitter and Instagram have garnered millions of hits.
However, this is not her first music video – she had previously appeared in the video for 'Sorry' from Beyonce’s album Lemonade.
The breast cancer awareness video appeared less than three weeks after her tempestuous US Open final defeat to Naomi Osaka, where Williams smashed a racquet and accused an umpire of sexism.
Williams, who celebrated her 37th birthday four days ago, pulled out of this week's China Open in Beijing to bring a premature end to her 2018 season, her first back on tour since giving birth to a daughter a year ago.
