Serena Williams in Ksh.50K tutu skirt for tournament after catsuit row

Tennis outfits for Serena Williams are often the talk of the town, and she set New York tongues wagging with her latest creation in a routine opening victory at the US Open.

The 36-year-old downed 68th-ranked Magda Linette of Poland 6-4 6-0 in her first home slam since becoming a mother.

But after French Open organizers ruled out a repeat of the black catsuit she wore in Paris for next year, all eyes were on what the 23-time grand slam singles champion would be wearing at Flushing Meadows.

Serena Williams didn’t disappoint. She entered the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium wearing a $900 (Ksh.90,000) black bomber jacket with white stitching, over a $500 (Ksh.50,000) black-and-brown one-shoulder silhouette dress with tulle skirt.

“It’s easy to play in,” Serena Williams said in a news conference afterwards.

“Kind of aerodynamic with the one arm free. It feels really good. Yeah, the tutu is easy to play in because I practiced in it before. That was fun.”

The dress, designed by Louis Vuitton menswear artistic director Virgil Abloh, one of the hottest names in fashion, for Nike, was the culmination of a perfect public relations campaign in the past week for Williams’ long-time clothing sponsor.

First, there was controversy over the black Nike catsuit Williams wore at Roland Garros, which prompted officials to introduce a dress code for the first time in Paris next year.

Then came a cleverly timed Nike ad, showing a moving home video of Williams practising her serve with her father and former coach, Richard Williams, when she was nine years old.

Williams Sr. is telling his daughter to pretend she is at the US Open. The ad has had close to five million views.

It’s only a crazy dream until you do it. #justdoit @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/8XUuJwBbXw

— Nike (@Nike) August 27, 2018