-By ONYEKACHI OSONDU
Last year, Serena Williams won the Australian Open while she was two months pregnant. Having only given birth in September of 2017 she returned to tennis in May of this year for the French Open in a black bodysuit designed especially for her by Nike. She jokingly said that the bodysuit made her feel like a warrior from Wakanda. Serena looked sleek and powerful in the bodysuit. The bodysuit however was worn for more practical reasons.
After giving birth, she struggled through episodes of pulmonary embolism (blood clots in her lungs) that nearly killed her. The bodysuit was specially engineered to prevent blood clots from forming while she competed.
French Tennis Federation President, Bernard Giudicelli, did not appreciate the bodysuit worn by Serena Williams nor did he acknowledge the reasons for which she wore the suit. He said in an interview that the French Open would be introducing a dress code, essentially in response to Williams outfit. “I think that sometimes we’ve gone too far” he said, adding a note about the bodysuit specifically “it will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and the tournam
ent.”
However, Nike clearly stands by Serena Williams and their bodysuit. The company posted a tweet that read “You can take the superhero out of her costume, but you can never take away her superpowers #justdoit”