Serena Williams established herself as a singular kind of tennis star. While many athletes have expressed themselves on court with their outfits, Williams stands out for the unique lens of fashion many saw her through. The catsuit she donned at the 2002 US Open is as memorable today as it was two decades ago. Although she was used to wearing clothes that are often dubbed outrageous, the catsuit still made her nervous. 

Appearing on ‘The Deal’ with MLB legend Alex Rodriguez and Bloomberg correspondent Jason Kelly, Williams touched upon her fashion icon status. Noticing they would be remiss not to talk about her 2002 US Open outfit, Williams revealed, “So that choice was definitely a Puma designer and she was like ‘we want you to do this catsuit’. I was like, ‘Woah, this is crazy, this is so cool’.”

Despite her love for the suit, she doubted her outfit choice. “So the US Open came, and I put it on, and I was like ‘I’m not doing this’ and I took it off. I was like, ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do this’. So, I had a second outfit in case I didn’t wanna wear the catsuit. Which, if you look in the opener of that year, I think it was 2002, actually wore the second outfit in the second round.”

She threw caution into the air eventually. “But I was like, ‘No, I can’t do that anymore. I need to own this catsuit. I need to own it. So yeah, it was just a really wild experience, but anyway, I took it off, and I’m like, ‘I can’t do this’, and then I’m like, ‘I need to focus on my game and not on my outfit’ as I’m walking out on the court.”

It was a difficult choice for Williams, but also a moment that made her aware of a reality.

Serena Williams realized she was ‘a lone soldier’ as she donned the catsuit

The Queen of the Court had won three grand slams and 5 Masters titles before the 2002 US Open. However, she joked that she became famous due to the outfit she wore in her second title run in Flushing Meadows. “I always say that’s when I got famous (laughs). It wasn’t the grand slams I had won before. It was the catsuit.”

She further said she showed it to other WTA stars in the locker, who firmly suggested she not wear it. The trendsetter still decided to don the outfit it to make a social statement. “I was really different. I was basically a lone soldier. It was just me, and even my sister looked like the typical athlete that’s just amazing and long and lean, and I was just different.”  

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Serena Williams will never regret wearing the catsuit in the 2002 US Open. She wore a similar suit in the 2018 French Open, which was eventually banned by the organizers, a decision which created much controversy. Regardless of the reaction, Williams impact is still felt off the court today!