Serena William has been banned from wearing her all black outfit at the French Open after the organisers decided to introduce a dress code for next year’s Ronald Garros tournament.
The outfit Williams called “Wakanda catsuit” was not fashionable but was also designed to prevent the blood clots after a haematoma – a swelling of clotted blood outside of a vessel – had been found in her abdomen following the birth of her daughter Olympia.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion had said that it made her feel “like a warrior princess” and gave her “an opportunity to inspire a whole different group of amazing women and kids.”
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But now it seems that she might never have the chance of wearing it again after French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli heavily criticised her outfit and mentioned that it will not be allowed any further.
“It will no longer be accepted,” said Giudicelli. “I believe we have sometimes gone too far. You have to respect the game and the place.”
The remarks drew a huge uproar on social media with many criticising the French Tennis head for his allegedly racist remarks.
Clothing brand Nike, who had designed Serena’s special outfit for medical reasons also joined the netizens in slamming the French Tennis federation and said, “You can take the superhero out of her costume, but you can never take away her superpowers.”
While some rightly pointed out that Serena was not the first one to sport such kind of Cat outfit in Tennis, other slammed the federation for favouring white women and racial discriminatrion.
One user even drew a comparison to Roger Federer who had also in the past played wearing an all-black t-shirt and pants.