Serena Williams turned heads at 2018 French Open with catsuit later banned
Serena Williams turned heads at 2018 French Open with catsuit later banned
Matthew NeschisSat, May 30, 2026 at 9:30 AM UTC
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Serena Williams
Serena Williams donned a catsuit at the 2018 French Open (Image: Getty)
Serena Williams caused quite a stir at the 2018 French Open after donning a black Nike catsuit that brought about revisions to the tournament's dress code.
At the time, Williams - who recently fueled Wimbledon return rumors upon submitting 'wildcard' requests - joked that the iconic catsuit she wore at Roland Garros made her feel like a superhero from the hit film 'Black Panther.' "I feel like a warrior in it, a warrior princess ... from Wakanda, maybe," the tennis icon told reporters. "I've always wanted to be a superhero, and it's kind of my way of being a superhero."
Besides looks, the unconventional tennis ensemble also had practical benefits. One year prior, Williams suffered blood clots in her lungs during a six-day medical emergency following the birth of her daughter, Olympia.
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"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 explained. "I've been wearing pants in general a lot when I play so I can keep the blood circulation going."
Despite Williams' valid reasoning behind the outfit, Roland Garros top brass were not exactly keen with her catsuit. Speaking to Tennis magazine, French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli announced that the French Open would be implementing a dress code moving forward.
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Serena Williams sported the catsuit to help with blood circulation (Image: Getty)
"I think that sometimes we've gone too far," Giudicelli said. Addressing Williams' catsuit directly, he added: "It will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and the place."
Giudicelli's declaration was swiftly met with a fierce wave of backlash, as tennis legend Billie Jean King wrote on social media that "policing of women's bodies must end." Williams, for one, couldn't believe that attire created such a fuss.
"I didn't know it would have such an impact," Williams told CNN Sport's Amanda Davies in April 2024. "Here I am, just trying to be healthy, I was a new mom and just trying to be me. It was a great moment. I didn't know it would cause such a stir."
Looking back on the incident, Williams wished that more attention was directed to the medical reason why she wore the catsuit in the first place. "I love wearing skirts," she said. "Don't get me wrong, they're like my favorite thing to wear, my tennis dresses, but I wanted to make sure that my blood was always circulating and I had been in a near-death experience. So I think there should have been and could have been - and whether there was or not, I was in it and I wasn't getting out of it - understanding around that whole outfit."
Regardless, Williams commended Nike for knowing "how to spark a conversation" while looking out for the best interests of its athletes. "I think in that moment, I really needed to be understood," she added. "I'd just had a kid. I think my baby was just a few months old at that time - why I was even playing, I don't know - and obviously, I had so many issues with my blood clots.
"They understood that what I was needing at that time, and it was great. So just hearing my voice and listening to my voice and then hearing the conversation around everything that happened after that, after the catsuit, it was really incredible - and shocking, too."
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
