The 37-year-old 23-time Grand Slam title winner has previously made headlines with her clothing choices on the court and today’s custom ensemble was no departure. Serena Williams stepped out for the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne wearing a green sleeveless romper and black fishnet compression tights. The bold look featured striped detailing on the one-piece and a keyhole cut-out in the back. Fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the outfit, with one blasting: “Serena has all the money in the world and can NEVER wear suitable tennis clothing. Another FAIL outfit!”
“Not a big fan of the outfit but her play was amazing as always,” another conceded, while a third added: “Another ridiculous outfit.”
A fourth critic tweeted: “The ugly outfit distracted her opponent.”
However, many more tennis fans hailed the choice of clothing, with one gushing: “Serena’s outfit is hot, her husband loves it and we love it too.”
“The outfit is amazing!” another chipped in, as a third commented: “Serena Williams look absolutely fire in this outfit. Serving you curves for days.”
One fan of Serena’s look was her husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, 35, who retweeted a message from an account which said: “French Open: ‘We’re banning the catsuit. Serena: ‘Just cut the legs off.’”
“I’m here for the romper,” he quipped, showing his support for his wife.
Serena’s outfit was custom-made by Nike, who said in a statement their Australian Open collection “takes inspiration from early Nike Tennis DNA… This look was made iconic by Ansdre Agassi in the ‘90s”.
The tennis star beat her opponent in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the tournament.
After the match, she said in her on-court interview: “I think the last time I was here I was actually pregnant and playing at the same time which is kind of insane.
“It’s kind of weird walking back on by myself this time but it feels good,” she continued.
“I’m glad that I was able to come out and do what I needed to do.”
She dubbed her outfit, which instantly caused waves among fans, a “Serena-tard”.
Two years ago, Serena won the Australian Open 2017 while she was pregnant with her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.
In a recent interview with Allure Magazine, she opened up about getting back to her pre-baby fitness level following the birth.
“After I came out [of hospital], I had a stomach, but I thought, this is kind of cool,” she told the publication. “I have a stomach because the baby was there.
“I loved being pregnant, I loved everything about it.
“I’m feeling pretty good about my body,” she continued. “I worked hard at it in the past eight months to get back from the baby.
“It hasn’t been easy. I’m not 21 anymore. But I did it slow and steady.”
Having beaten Tatjana in the first round in just 49 minutes, she returned to the Australian Open in style, showing fans she means business during her first outing onto the court since her 2017 pregnant victory.