From Warrior Princess To Pretty Pretty Princess: Serena Williams Dominates US Open In Tutus Because She's Serena Williams, Dammit

By Tori Preston | Celebrity | August 30, 2018 |

By Tori Preston | Celebrity | August 30, 2018 |

Last week we were all up in arms about the French Open changing its dress code because Serena Willams dared to play in a catsuit (for her health!). This week, Serena’s winning all her matches at the US Open while wearing tulle tutus. And look, I’m not saying she is doing this as some sort of direct response to the French controversy or anything. After all, Vogue had the juicy deets on her US Open ensembles a few weeks ago:

But this year, the 23-time Grand Slam champion is really upping her game with a special U.S. Open ensemble designed by Virgil Abloh for Nike. The look consists of a black one-shoulder dress with Nike’s logo, accompanied by Abloh’s signature quotation graphic—this one reads Logo—with a full tulle skirt. Williams will play in a pair of customized NikeCourt Flare sneakers and sport an Abloh-designed jacket while off court.

So it’s just a happy coincidence that mere days after the catsuit controversy, Williams is out on the courts again, winning her matches while dressed in something so iconically soft and feminine. Though maybe soft is the wrong word, here. Maybe Williams is redefining the tutu as something STRONG and feminine:

“When I first tried on the dress, I felt very strong and feminine at the same time. It has all the really strong elements, from the leather to that really cool stretchy material,” said Williams. “I felt so feminine in the tutu, which is probably my favorite part of it. It really embodies what I always say: that you can be strong and beautiful at the same time.”

For their part, Nike doesn’t care what she’s wearing (probably because she’s wearing their clothes either way):

You can take the superhero out of her costume, but you can never take away her superpowers. #justdoit pic.twitter.com/dDB6D9nzaD

— Nike (@Nike) August 25, 2018

Of course, just because Serena’s tutus have been a hit, it doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any dress code drama at the US Open. France’s Alize Cornet received a warning after she changed her shirt (which she’d noticed was on backwards) while on the baseline of the court.

Alize Cornet came back to court after 10 minute heat break. Had her fresh shirt on back to front. Changed at back of court. Got a code violation. Unsportsmanlike conduct….. 😳
But the men can change shirts on court. https://t.co/sCN4KDXYTb

— judy murray (@JudyMurray) August 28, 2018

After people pointed out that Cornet’s maneuver took approximately 10 seconds total, came after a break that was instituted because of the obscenely high temperatures, and hardly compared to the fairly typical sight of male tennis players lounging shirtless on the side of the court, the US Open issued a statement regarding their Attire Policy:

US Open Statement on Change of Attire Policy pic.twitter.com/Kt7EcuPz1S

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2018

For now, we can look forward to Serena facing her sister Venus in her third match on Friday. And we can also appreciate the shit out of this coat she’s wearing in this Beats by Dre commercial because I WANT IT: