(CNN) -- Confidence -- on the court and off it, Venus Williams is finding her mojo again.
A year ago the tennis star was diagnosed with a debilitating auto-immune disease during the U.S. Open, but next week she will step back on the courts of her home grand slam tournament boosted by her recent results and the relaunch of her fashion label.
Williams defended her women's doubles gold medal at the recent Olympic Games alongside younger sister Serena, who has roared back from her own health problems to win both the Wimbledon and London 2012 singles titles.
"The Olympics really built my confidence," the 32-year-old Venus told CNN. "I wasn't able to play a lot of matches beforehand -- just three matches in about two months, which is not a lot.
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"So going to the Olympics I didn't have a lot of matches, but I made the best of it and I played I think some of my best tennis of the year."
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The former world No. 1's passion, fashion, is also on the upswing following the recent relaunch of her label EleVen at an event in New York -- which also hosts the U.S. Open.
"EleVen is about being better than a 10," said the current world No. 47. "So it's about being a personal best, it's about not accepting any limits, that anyone puts on you or that you can even put on yourself, because sometimes we do.
"It's about expressing yourself for who you are. So EleVen means a lot of things but it just means bringing out the best in you.
"I feel that when I wear EleVen, I feel my best. So I want people to feel their best when they wear EleVen, confident and good about themselves."
Throughout her career, the seven-time grand slam champion has been as well known for her striking outfits as she has her powerful tennis strokes.
Some of them pushed the boundaries of sporting design, and Williams said she is reining in her more experimental urges.
"Some of my favorite things were the goddess dress that I wore at Wimbledon, I think it was 2007," she said. "And one of the craziest ones was the can-can dress.
"That was my idea of having lace on skin. For me it was fun, and it was experimental because at that time it was just me wearing it. But at that time I was like, 'What can I do that can be worn on the court? Can you wear lace? Yes. Can you wear fringe?'
"Because I did this fun dress after Tina Turner, and it was so fun, but at this point the experiments are over and it's about bringing classic designs."
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Williams' obsession with design is such that she took time away from playing tennis to gain a fashion degree.
"To get my degree was important to me, mostly because of how I grew up -- my parents always chose education -- so for me it felt like an achievement to be able to do that," she said.
"But also I love fashion, and I knew it was something that I wanted to do, and I wanted to bring credibility to it, and I have to say the education helps a ton, so it's served me very well."
Williams said she is excited about all the elements of her life coming together again.
"I'm very excited about my game, I'm excited about tennis, I'm excited about wearing all the new EleVen clothes," she said.
"There are so many wonderful things coming up so I think between great tennis and great fashions on the court, it's going to be an amazing U.S. Open for me."
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Williams is, however, still coming to terms with her battle against Sjogren's Syndrome -- which can cause extreme fatigue among its symptoms.
"I've come a long way, and I've gone through a lot of ups and downs for sure," she said.
"When you have an auto-immune disease, you can't expect everything to be the way it was before. You have to take the set of circumstances you have, and work with those.
"I'm working on it every day, but I know that I can live this dream and I think it gives a lot of other people hope, because it's not easy, but you know I'm working on it."
The story of the Williams sisters' rise to prominence, their dominance of the women's game and the struggles they have both experienced in recent years -- with Serena surviving potentially life-threatening blood clots -- has captivated tennis fans.
They have won a combined total of 33 singles and doubles grand slam titles, so what lies ahead as they approach the twilight of their tennis careers?
"There's a lot more clothes to design," Venus said. "Serena and I both want to play the Rio 2016 Olympics, we think that'd be a great place to shine for us and for the U.S. and everything.
"So we're not done yet, we still have great tennis in us, and it's amazing to do this every day."
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Williams has had a distinctive look since she first burst onto the scene in the mid-1990s. As a teenager she was well known for her braided hair.
As her career continued and her interest in fashion grew, Williams began to experiement with her on-court outfits. At the 2010 Australian Open, the seven-time grand slam champion sported this neon yellow number.
Williams lit up the clay at a WTA event in Madrid in 2010 with this risque red and black dress.
The 2010 season proved to be one of Williams' most experimental. But the American proved she can also stand out when observing the strict all-white code at Wimbledon.
She began 2011 in equally bold style, turning out at the Australian Open in a yellow lattice dress.
The American had her tresses in control for the start of the second-round match against the Greek qualifier.
It didn't stop her winning, but the in-form American was frustrated after making 44 unforced errors -- which she said was "unprofessional."
Williams has now won 35 of her last 36 singles matches, having claimed the Olympic women's title for the first time as well as defending her doubles crown with older sister Venus.
Venus also won her opening match in Cincinnati, beating Olympic semifinalist Maria Kirilenko of Russia as she kept her trademark long braids safely tied up.
Williams and Radwanska shake hands after the match on Saturday.
Williams reacts during a play against Radwanska. She finished the tournament with 102 aces, three times as many as the the next closest woman player, Sabine Lisicki, who had 34.
Radwanska hits a forehand return back to Williams.
Williams' mother, Oracene Price, center, finds shelter under an umbrella during a temporary rain delay.
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Radwanska reacts after a good play.
Williams serves during her final match against Radwanska.
Radwanska serves to Williams in the final match in the women's singles.
Radwanska, right, the No. 3 seed from Poland, took her place in a showpiece final for the first time in her fledgling career. Her opponent, 30-year-old Williams, also recorded a straight sets win.
Spectators in the royal box on Centre Court wait for the final match to begin on Saturday.
Radwanska rests on her chair during a break between games during the match against Williams. Radwanska won on her Grand Slam semifinal debut to become Poland's first major finalist in 75 years.
Williams hits a forehand return. The U.S. player is gunning for a 14th major singles titles.
The ground staff installs rain covers, causing a delay in the game.
"This is what I dreamed of since I was a kid," Radwanska said. "Everyone wants to reach a Grand Slam final. It is the best two weeks of my career."
Going into Saturday's final, Williams boasted 85 aces in this year's tournament, second only to German quarterfinalist Philipp Kohlschreiber, who has 98 to his name.
Ground staff rush onto the court to install the rain covers.
Spectators hide under umbrellas and rain jackets as protection from the rain. See the best WImbledon photos.
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