There really is nothing like Serena Williams in primetime on ESPN every other night. Serena’s feeling the love in New York this year too, after years of shenanigans and controversies. It just feels like… everyone is just happy that Serena is still around, still playing, still killing it, still wearing whatever the hell she wants. As we discussed previously, for this year’s US Open, Virgil Abloh (of Louis Vuitton) collaborated with Nike on Serena’s USO kit. The result was a one-sleeved tennis dress with a full tulle skirt like a ballerina’s tutu. For Serena’s Round 1 match, she wore the black dress. For Round 2 last night, Serena wore this baby-blue version.
What I love about this is that the US Open cannot and will not say sh-t about Serena’s ballerina get-up. Serena is big business for them, obviously, but they also don’t want to get into a controversy over her clothes, especially after the French Tennis Federation president stepped in sh-t by trying to ban Serena’s catsuit. Other players had Serena’s back on the catsuit issue – French player Alize Cornet was given an “unsportsmanlike conduct” warning for rearranging her shirt on the court a few days ago at the US Open, and she ended up receiving an apology from the tournament. When asked about it, Cornet brought it back to Serena and how men are always trying to police female athletes’ bodies, and Cornet said that what happened to Serena was “10,000 times worse.”
Anyway, Serena won her match in primetime last night. It was a great match too and Serena looks pretty sharp and very fast. Next up for Serena: Venus. Serena versus Venus in what will probably be the most-watched women’s match of the tournament. I’m assuming it will be primetime on ESPN on Friday night, right? The last time they played, Venus beat her little sister. That was in Indian Wells in March. Who do you think will win this time?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
I love her ballerina-styled kit. It’s fun and suits her.
I am 100% in camp ‘she can wear what she wants’ but I don’t find this outfit flattering, at all. Not like the catsuit, which was sublime.
I tend to agree but to be fair, the one-armed top looks good on no one.
I do absolutely LOVE that color on her though.
Same. And let’s not get carried away – this is a figure skater outfit at best…
Yeah, this style is hideous, but I want her to live in it because that color on her is the most divine thing I have seen her in, ever. I wish her wedding dress had been this color. Also, WHAT A BADASS SHE IS!!! I love watching her hustle and hustle.
Yeah I don’t love this and agree the one arm thing rarely looks good, but if she likes it and can play in it, go for it.
I miss the catsuit. Wasn’t it just banned by the French Open and Wimbledon (by default-they are picky), and not necessarily the US Open?
I like what the outfit says by combining the traditional femininity of a ballerina skirt with Serena’s powerful and athletic figure. It’s a stunning combination, that she is a great athlete, and still feminine. She has been ridiculed for not being feminine in the past and this outfit is a direct rebuke to the idea that she can’t be a strong, athletic woman and still feminine.
The color here is phenomenal but I am Team Catsuit all the way.
The color is spectacular, particularly on her, but I just don’t get the one-armed thing. I was at the Open last night. Even up in the rafters (we were sitting 10 rows from the top of the stadium) it was stuffy and hot. I can’t imagine how awful it was at court level. The air wasn’t moving at all and even at 9pm, it was still hovering around 90 degrees. I would have gone completely sleeveless.
Im still trying to figure out why can’t she wear her catsuit? I remember Agassi played Wimbledon in jeans shorts. Yes white, but it was freaking denim.
If I was a pro tennis player, I would wear whatever Serena wears because she is the GOAT and everything she does is designed to elevate her game, including her kits.
Don’t like it but she can wear whatever she wants quite frankly – her tennis speaks for itself.
The shirt violation was absolutely ridiculous and I’m glad they’ve apologised.
Agreed. What were they thinking? Personally, I wouldn’t even care if there were a Janet Jackson type situation but Alize didn’t even show cleavage or anything??? It was a sports bra and she showed only her back?! Maybe just stop objectifying women! Men are irrational and annoying…
As for Serena, I think she likes feminine and girly things. It is not the first time she wore a puffy skirt for tennis. She looks cute, no question, but more importantly, she slays!!!
+1
Agreed, I think it looks ridiculous but that’s just my opinion. She should be allowed to where what she likes and feels comfortable in.
I’m absolutely here for Serena forever in anything, she’s incredible. I still think that dress is just awful design-wise though, why not two sleeves in the different colours? Maybe it’s just that the blue comes off as more lilac-y, I didn’t mind it so much when it was all black, the tutu part looked much less high school design project.
Side note, I love how she waves at every side of the crowd like a gymnast after a win 😀
I agree that the tulle worked better on the black version. But this color is stunning on her.
It does look better in black. I do love the skirt. Can do without the top.
Glad they apologized about the shirt hypocrisy to the French Player
I agree, the colour on her is lovely, it’s just that the dress itself doesn’t lend itself to being great in that specific shade, if that makes sense?
Serena can wear what she wants! I am wondering about the one sleeved looks though. It would feel so unbalanced to me. Why not extend the skin tone on the other side to the same length? I’ve been wondering if it’s a compression sleeve.
Of course she can wear whatever she chooses, I’m not judging her for wearing it, I’m judging the dress itself haha :p
Extending the skin tone was exactly what I thought they should do, it would make the dress so much more balanced. Maybe a compression sleeve you’re right, but you’d think since her pectoral injury was preventing her from serving when she had to pull out of the French Open they’d put such a sleeve on both sides to help avoid it happening again.
I can’t tell you how much I love this! It’s strength and fierceness wrapped up in ribbons and bows. I’m going to print it out and frame it, hang it on the wall of my granddaughter’s bedroom wall. My granddaughter is three. She loves pink and says she’s a princess and she does karate. I want her see this photo and know that she does not ever have to give up one to be the other.
This is so awesome Nona – you’re a great influence for your granddaughter!
When I was 17 my roommate used to pin pictures of Victoria’s Secret models in our dorm room, to set ‘goals’. This is 83625949262 times better.
(Although I don’t like the look – love the message)
I just don’t know how comfortable this would be to play in, ya know? Not the skirt part so much but having one arm bound up in a sleeve when she has to swing a racket. Nevermind. She knows what she’s doing. Hopefully the fabric is super-stretchy and breathable.
Having the one tight sleeve doesn’t look very comfortable, and I’m not really a fan of the one sleeve style. It ends up looking a little lopsided. When I play, I need to wear tank tops to have racket swinging comfort, but I’m no athletic ace like Serena
Yikes…that’s just one unattractive outfit .
It looks like a DIY ‘upcycle’ textile project from one of those under- qualified YouTube ‘stars’. Surely Serena, Nike and Virgil Abloh could come up with something better given all the resources they have combined?
Resources never did high fashion any favours let’s be honest lmao!
I don’t like it at all.
Love, love, love her!
She looks smashing in it.
It’s a cute outfit, but I just think of how freaking hot she must be with a long sleeve AND compression tights/hose, I don’t care how high tech the material. It’s been miserable in the northeast this week; my next door neighbor has been at the tourney the last few days and even into the evening hours said it was brutally hot and humid with poor air quality to boot.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Serena and her outfits just as much as the next person but still, I can’t help but be concerned about her. Doesn’t she have a health problem for which she requires a certain type of clothing? Why on earth would they ban said type of clothing, knowing she has an actual issue? Isn’t it bad for her to play without it? I’m not trying to troll her or anything, I really want to know. It’s incredibly unfair to her.
She is wearing skin-coloured compression tights in the above photos to prevent blood clots, they look like fishnet tights.
She looks great, and of course can wear what she wants. I would, though, like to see a male player in this dress at a tournament. I feel like the women’s clothing rules leave them “dancing backwards in high heels” sometimes.
I don’t love it, but I do love that she’s wearing something really ‘girly’ and ‘cute’. Often, girls and women seem to think that to be taken seriously they have to dress like men, or in a masculine way, so I really do appreciate seeing one of the best female athletes of all time, winning matches in a tutu on primetime tv.
Long may she reign.
Love it, and I want to see her baby in a matching mommy-and-me outfit.
How does she not sweet?
I love the periwinkle blue on her and I still love the one sleeve style cause FLOJO! but that tutu thing isn’t the business, imo. However, I love Serena wearing WHAT. EVER. SHE. WANTS. TO. WEAR.
Kaiser, I know you’re a del Potro fan & wanted to make sure you saw this:
https://www.gq.com/story/juan-martin-del-potro-strikes-back
(hope it’s ok to post here.)
I love it. I love that the GOAT is wearing a tutu while she kicks a$$!
Hideous