‘Like She’s on the Paris Runway’- Serena Williams’ Bold Move Once Ruffled Feathers With ‘Conservative’ Tournament Organizers as They Issued an Ultimatum

Former American tennis star Serena Williams is a trendsetter in tennis. Not only because of her aggressive style of playing, but the American also slayed with her fashion sense. Be it her outfit or the shoes she wore, everything she wore became an overnight fashion statement.

In her journey, Nike was her constant partner. The designers at Nike had the hard task of accommodating Serena’s demands. Back in 2004, Serena again came up with a completely different shoe design to play in the US Open. However, the authorities at the US Open were not happy with the design. Here’s what happened.

Serena Williams’ controversial shoe in the 2004 US Open

Serena Williams had a clear stance regarding her accessories. She once said, “I wanted to make sport and fashion more synonymous. I wanted to be daring and bold both on and off the court.” The designers at Nike also understood her demands well and always gave her what she wanted. One such shoe they designed for Serena was in the US Open in 2004. It was Serena’s first signature shoe. A slick Shox model with a detachable knee-high, boot-like extension that doubled as a compression sleeve to ward off cramping.

However, the tournament director didn’t allow Serena to use the shoes for the matches. Hence, the former world number one had to use it only for warmup sessions.

Here’s what Nike shoe designer Wilson Smith recalled about the shoe in an interview with GQ.com.

“She came walking out at the [2004] US Open like she’s on the Paris runway. Later that night, I flipped on SportsCenter, and there were the boots. The next day, they’re on the front page of USA Today,” Smith said.

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Even though Serena didn’t use the shoes for her matches, in no time, it was all over the media. This speaks volumes about Serena as a fashion icon and her enormous fan following. While the shoes made a lot of noise in the 2004 US Open, Serena also had a special skirt she used in the tournament that garnered similar attention.

Serena’s Andre Agassi-inspired denim skirt

In the same tournament, Serena was in the mood for revolutionizing the way people dress up during tennis matches. She recalled the former tennis star Andre Agassi using denim shorts and demanded a similar one for her in the last Grand Slam of the year.

The designers at Nike didn’t disappoint either and came up with a denim skirt which, according to Serena, was extremely light-weight so that she can perform easily in it.

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Over the years, Serena used some of the most iconic tennis attires of all time. Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section.