Grand slam tours have their own prestige, which comes with certain rules as well. The French Open 2018 restricted Serena Williams from wearing a black catsuit during her matches. ‘King of Clay’ and contemporary of Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal too, had defended the take of the French Open.

23-time grand slam champion, however, had criticized the ban and had told her medical condition which made her wear full-body clothes.

When Rafael Nadal defended the 2018 French Open’s ban on Serena Williams’ outfit

Rafael Nadal had backed the ban by the Roland Garros on Serena Williams’ outfit. He said, “I think that everybody is fair to do whatever works better for the tournament.” Furthermore, he gave the example of Wimbledon’s dress code of wearing an all-white outfit.

He said, “You cannot say to another event that they have to do another thing. That’s my opinion. Why if Wimbledon have they own rules, why Roland Garros cannot have it?”

What was the reason behind Williams’ outfit?

The controversy arose when the French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli showed reservations about Serena’s outfit. He implied a new set of rules for the dress code for the French Open.

Serena Williams had clarified her reason for wearing that. She wanted to avoid blood clots that were forming after the complications she had to suffer after Olympia’s birth. Moreover, she felt like a warrior princess from Wakanda referring to the movie ‘Black Panther’.

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Serena was wearing pants so that she could keep the circulation going and the catsuit made her feel comfortable while playing.

Rafa and Williams in 2022

Though Rafa might have backed the French Open in 2018 over this issue, the relations between the two players have always been flourishing. Most-awaited comeback of Serena Williams finally happened at the Wimbledon Championships 2022.

Though she could not do well on the tour, she cheered for her favorite player, Rafael Nadal. Unfortunately, the Spanish player dropped out from the tour ahead of his semi-finals.

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Rafa is undergoing recovery from his abdominal injury. On the other hand, Serena Williams is still optimistic about her run at the US Open.