Serena Williams responds to catsuit ban by wearing designer tutu during US open
![Serena Williams wears a tutu for US Open game. [Photo: Getty]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/yoYGgV1e2V_htuqareYsbQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/homerun/feed_manager_auto_publish_494/45efb07b24cfb543ea67491572fae907)
Leave it to Serena Williams to respond to her catsuit ban in the most epic way.
The 36-year-old tennis champion won her first match at the US Open on Monday, swapping out her usual catsuit for a tutu worthy of a ballerina.
Just days earlier, Williams was told she was banned from wearing the body compression suit she wore to the French Open in 2018, despite it being designed to help prevent blood clots.
The tutu dress came specially designed by Virgil Abloh, the founder of Off-White and current artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear, bringing a high fashion twist to the court.
![Serena’s outfit was designer by Louis Vuitton menswear artistic director, Virgil Abloh. [Photo: Getty]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/92hgK4ULKjBZpYlWXV6S3w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTEzNzU-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/homerun/feed_manager_auto_publish_494/348fe09e0d8e907f3cc74f58f073e484)
The dress featured a one-sleeved detail, and was designed in collaboration with Nike.
Williams’ described her banned body compression suit as ‘Black Panther-inspired’ after the top-grossing Marvel Comics movie.
The tennis champion wore the body suit after a return to the court after maternity at the French Opens, revealing her outfit made her feel like a “warrior princess” from Wakanda – the fictional nation where the film is set.
![Serena Williams in her ‘Black Panther-inspired’ body compression suit at the French Open. [Photo: Getty]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2ySB33Ag35uaBzoc0u0JAA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/homerun/feed_manager_auto_publish_494/516eeda51f362a11b7367c2ea62c97ad)
Williams revealed: “I call it, like, my Wakanda-inspired catsuit. We designed it way before the movie, but still, it kind of reminds me of that. I’m always living in a fantasy world, I always wanted to be a superhero and it’s kind of my way of being a superhero.”
Following this, French Tennis Federation President, Bernard Giudicelli, sparked outrage with comments that adaptation to tennis uniform had gone “too far” calling Williams’ “no longer accepted”.
We wonder if Bernard prefers her tutu? We know we do.
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