Serena Williams always makes a statement when she steps onto the court. The powerhouse tennis player is one of the greatest athletes of all time — regardless of sport — and she racks up wins in style. Serena Williams wore fishnets and a green, one-piece catsuit by Nike for her first match of the 2019 Australian Open, which took place at the top of the week. Williams emerged the victor and I'm reminded that the G.O.A.T. can do no wrong.
Her body-hugging one-piece was utilitarian and cool, showing off her super toned arms and legs. It was basically a romper with a twist — it was sleeveless with shorts. It was also Williams' catsuit V. 2019 since her black catsuit, worn in 2018, was a headline-grabber. That style was ultimately banned.
Williams added a dose of subtle sexiness to her Australian Open ensemble by wearing fishnets in competition. She wasn't merely serving up tennis balls to her opponent. She was serving up a lewk.
But Williams' attire wasn't simply a sartorial statement. Rather, the romper was designed for a specific and important purpose that centered on her status as a mother.
The tennis ace co-designed the mint green bodysuit with black and white stripe detailing with Nike — and it was nicknamed a "Serena-tard" for its leotard-like construction.
If anyone knows how to fuse comfort and style on the court, it's Williams. "We design really far in advance at Nike," Williams told the media, per TODAY, about her outfit. "I knew that I have been working really, really hard in the off-season to be incredibly fit and incredibly ready... Nike always wants to make an incredibly strong, powerful statement for moms that are trying to get back and get fit. That was basically it for me.”
Who needs the usual tennis uniform of polo shirts and skirts when you can look this good, right?
Overall, Williams was also a source of inspo for other mothers out there who want to be stylish while getting in shape.
Williams looked and felt good and that's all that matters. The fishnets were an excellent and unexpected touch, too. Slay, slay, and slay some more.
The custom and co-designed green catsuit was different than the previous and aforementioned black catsuit, which Williams wore at the 2018 French Open. It was a hot topic of convo at the time not because Williams looked like a superhero (she really did!) but because catsuits were eventually banned by French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli for having "gone too far."
The tennis queen wore that catsuit because it was engineered to help with prevent blood clots, reports The Guardian. Williams experienced blood clots during her pregnancy, so her catsuit served a medical purpose. Therefore, it had a bigger function that fashion.
Williams also told a reporter that her outfit represented "all the moms out there that have had tough pregnancies and have had to come back and try to be fierce." That's what I meant when I said she can do no wrong.
Williams didn't stress it, though. She handled the ban, which was eventually amended, according to Glamour, with grace and class. She also squashed any beef and was a good sport — because of course she was. She even said she found other methods to combat the blood clots and therefore wouldn't revisit that specific black catsuit.
"When it comes to fashion, you don't want to be a repeat offender," she said at the time. Game, set, and match went to Willams with that retort.
Her green romper was perfection. Oh, and BTW. Williams' husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian was all about her competition outfit, tweeting that he was "here for the romper."
So were we, Alexis. So were we.
