“People were mad about it, I couldn’t believe it; they were like you shouldn’t wear that” – Serena Williams on sporting a catsuit at 2018 French Open

Serena Williams has long been known to experiment with her Grand Slam outfits. Over the years, she has showcased some of the most iconic looks in fashion history. In a recently published video with Vogue, Williams spoke about the controversy surrounding her 2018 French Open outfit.

The 2018 Roland Garros was Williams’ first Grand Slam tournament since giving birth to her daughter Olympia. She zeroed in on the catsuit look and was happy with it.

“I’ve worn catsuits but I’ve never worn like a long catsuit. (So) this was really cool where I wore like this one body piece,” she said.

However, it did not sit well with the French Open authorities. The 23-time Major winner was understandably baffled by their stance.

“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 kinda upset about it,” she recalled.

The 40-year-old disclosed that she had to reason with the Parisian authorities and inform them that she needed to wear the catsuit for health purposes after giving birth to Olypmia.

“I had to wear it, because it was for compression issues, with my blood, so I needed to have some full compression going on, ‘cause this time I think Olympia was six months,” Williams revealed, adding, “I told them that you don’t understand this is for my health, I kinda need to wear that and they understood when I said that. They weren’t very happy about it, but they understood.”

During the controversy, the president of the French Tennis Federation, Bernard Guidecelli, had said that such apparel would henceforth not be accepted.

“I think we sometimes went too far. The combination of Serena Williams this year, for example, it will no longer be accepted. You have to respect the game and the place,” he had said.

Serena Williams during Grand Slams

Nevertheless, the tennis legend has donned many such suits during her Grand Slam runs which have earned an iconic status and are forever etched in the dictionaries of fashion.

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“And now that I know that it's so important to just put yourself first, especially mentally, I always have shutdown moments” - Serena Williams gets candid about mental health with Selena Gomez

Williams admitted that she has learned to shut down and put herself first in a pursuit to take care of her mental fitness

Serena Williams recently appeared in a virtual meeting organized by Wondermind where she talked about how she nurtures her mental health.

Wondermind, which is co-founded by Selena Gomez, aims to decomratize and destigmatize mental health for everyone. Speaking to Gomez, Williams admitted that she has learned to shut down and put herself first.

“Mental fitness for me is just really learning to shut down," Williams said. "You know, I did this years ago, even before mental health was like a topic among everyone's mind. It was more just like, 'Alright, I'm shutting myself down today'. Just subconsciously, it was something that I've always done. And now that I know that it's so important to just put yourself first, especially mentally, I always have shutdown moments."