Appearing at the French Open on Tuesday, Serena Williams made her first match at a major tournament in a year a memorable one — both in terms of the quality of her tennis, and her own inimitable signature style. In her first Grand Slam appearance since January 2017, when she won the Australian Open while pregnant with her daughter, Alexis Ohanian Jr., Williams took to the clay court in a black one-piece bodysuit with a red line across her midriff that had many observers comparing her to a real-life superhero. And in classic superhero fashion, the unseeded Williams survived a tense first-set tiebreaker against Kristyna Pliskova, before sublimely slamming the door shut on her worthy Czech adversary’s attempt at a comeback. Williams won in straight sets, 7-6 and 6-4, and dominated with 13 aces.
While most women players typically wear skirts or dresses to major competitions, social media users hailed the all-time great’s style as worthy of a queen.
In an interview with the Tennis Channel’s Jon Wertheim after her victory, Williams was asked what the catsuit represented.
“All the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and be fierce in the middle of everything. That’s what this represents,” said Williams.
“You can’t beat a catsuit, right?” she added, smiling. Later, Williams echoed that sentiment with a post on Twitter.
Serena, as she has time and time again, continues to prove that “there’s no wrong way to be a woman” — or one of the greatest tennis players that the world has ever seen.
