Serena Williams' catsuit: How the American's pregnancy led to one of the most iconic and controversial tennis outfits of all time

The 2018 French Open was important to Serena Williams in ways than one. It was the American's first Major appearance as a mother as she returned to Slam action in Paris for the first time since the 2017 Australian Open.

Having played the Melbourne Slam while being pregnant with her first daughter, Olympia, Williams went on a maternity break from the tour after strolling to the title Down Under -- her final and 23rd Grand Slam singles win.

Pregnancy, though, was not an easy time for the former World No. 1. Williams had to undergo an emergency Caesarean section, following which she was hit with a life-threatening pulmonary embolism that almost killed her.

"They were trying to talk to me, and all I could think was, “I’m dying, I’m dying. Oh my God,'" Williams recalled the incident.

Initially, the doctors were reluctant to order the requisite tests despite Williams' insistence that she was at risk of blood clots, something which had ailed her in the past.

Thankfully, the medical professionals conceded to her demands, and the tests revealed that she needed immediate surgery.

"Being heard and appropriately treated was the difference between life or death for me," Williams recalled.

"In the U.S., Black women are nearly three times more likely to die during or after childbirth than their white counterparts. Many of these deaths are considered by experts to be preventable."

At the French Open, therefore, Serena Williams showed up in a black "catsuit" - a full-length bodysuit which included pants instead of the traditional tennis skirts.

The outfit was more functional than just form, as the American needed to keep the blood circulation going in her legs to prevent the risk of more blood clots.

"I've had a lot of problems with my blood clots, God I don't know how many I've had in the past 12 months," Williams said at a press conference.

"I've been wearing pants in general a lot when I play so I can keep the blood circulation going.

The French Tennis Federeration, though, was not amused by the unusual kit sported by the 23-time Grand Slam champion. President Bernard Giudicelli came out in criticism of it, saying that it was disrespectful of the game and the tournament.

Giudicelli, in fact, warned that the French Open will be introducing a dress code, similar to the one at Wimbledon, to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future.

"I think that sometimes we've gone too far," Giudicelli said, as reported by The Associated Press. "It will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and the place."

While the catsuit itself was banned, and no other player has since worn anything similar on a tennis court, no such dress code has been impletemented by the FFT after the backlash they received for the comments against Williams.

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"They weren't very happy about it but they understood" - Serena Williams on French Open catsuit outfit

Serena Wilkiams

Years later, Serena Williams recalled the waves the French Open catsuit made, jokng about how people were "mad about it" while she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

The former World No. 1 also clarified that when she explained to the Roland Garros authorities that she needed it for health reasons, they were, while not entirely happy, understanding.

"This was really cool where I wore like this one body piece and people were mad about it. I couldn't believe it. They were like 'you shouldn't wear that,' well not people, the French Open was kind of upset about it, and I was like 'why not?" Serena Williams said.

"I told them 'no, no, no, you don't understand. This is for my health I kind of need to wear that and they understood when I said that. They weren't very happy about it but they understood," she added.

Unseeded at the tournament, Serena Williams reached the fourth round of the 2018 French Open before withdrawing from her clash against Maria Sharapova due to injury.