"The French Open was kind of upset about it and I was like 'why not'"- When Serena Williams commented on wearing a catsuit at clay-court Major

Serena Williams is arguably the greatest women's tennis player of all time. She had an illustrious career that saw her win 23 Grand Slam singles titles, among other honors.

Apart from her game and results, Williams was also well-known for her unique outfits on the court. The American famously wore a black catsuit at the 2018 French Open, which was her first Slam since giving birth to daughter Olympia.

However, Williams' outfit was not well received by some. Then-French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli even stated that it would not be accepted in the future.

Serena Williams spoke about the catsuit during an interview with Vogue in 2022.

"This is my first Grand Slam after having Olympia, and I was like, 'I worked so hard at those braids I'm going to keep them in,' so I kept them in and I've worn catsuits but I've never worn like a long catsuit," she said.

The American further explained that wearing the catsuit was important to help deal with compression issues in her blood.

"I had to wear it because it was for compression issues with my blood. So I needed to have like full comprehension going on cause at this time I think Olympia was six months," Williams said.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion also said she was surprised when the French Open expressed opposition to the outfit. However, they understood her point of view after she explained the reason behind wearing it.

"This was really cool where I wore like this one body piece and people were mad about it. I couldn't believe it. They were like 'you shouldn't wear that,' well not people, the French Open was kind of upset about it, and I was like 'why not?'" Williams said.

"I told them 'no, no, no, you don't understand. This is for my health I kind of need to wear that',and they understood when I said that. They weren't very happy about it but they understood," she added.

Serena Williams won the French Open thrice

Serena Williams in action at the 2022 US Open

Serena Williams won three French Open singles titles in her career, the first of which came in 2002 when she beat her sister Venus Williams 7-5, 6-3 in the final.

Her second title came 11 years later in 2013, defeating Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 in the title clash. Williams' last French Open victory came in 2015 when she beat Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 in the final.

The only time she lost the title clash at the clay-court Major was in 2016, when Garbine Muguruza beat her 7-5, 6-4.

Williams' last appearance at the French Open came in 2021 when she lost 6-3, 7-5 to Elena Rybakina in the fourth round.