Serena “Supermum” Williams made a winning return to the court in Paris, wearing a lycra bodysuit that she admitted had been inspired by a Marvel movie.
Williams is the only woman in the draw who features in her own HBO documentary series, Being Serena, and yesterday she more than justified her billing.
It wasn’t just her tennis – which was just about good enough to drag her over the line against world No. 70 Kristyna Pliskova – but the styling and an entertaining press conference in which she addressed everything from a new mother’s conflicting pressures to drinking games at the royal wedding.
In the end, her daring fashion statement ended up causing more comment than anything else. “Catsuit anyone?” she wrote on her Twitter page. “For all the moms out there who had a tough recovery from pregnancy – here you go. If I can do it, so can you. Love you all!!”
The black, shiny, skin-tight outfit looked like a superhero uniform and recalled the controversy that surrounded Anne White’s Wimbledon catsuit in 1985. “I call it like my Wakanda-inspired cat suit,” Williams said, in a reference to the blockbuster movie Black Panther. Yet this was not a purely sartorial decision, as she revealed that the compression element of the garment is important for her circulation.
Tennis insiders had previously noted that, in every photograph taken since Williams had started training again, she was wearing tight leggings. Some had privately speculated that she might be covering up knee problems, but Williams exploded this theory last night.
“I had a lot of problems with my blood clots,” she said. “God, I don't know how many I have had in the past 12 months. So there is definitely a little functionality to it. I have been wearing pants in general a lot when I play so I can keep the blood circulation going. It's a fun suit, but it's also functional so I can be able to play without any problems.”
It wasn’t the quality of Williams’s tennis that mattered yesterday, more the fact that she is back in the mix, almost a year-and-a-half after she claimed the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant.
Yes, she had made appearances at the big American hard court events in Miami and Indian Wells in March, losing two of her four matches there. But her coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently admitted that she had not been properly prepared. “She needed to feel the competition,” Mouratoglou said. “It was a good experience as she realised all the work that needed to be done in order for her to be really ready.”
This time, though, Williams is on the comeback trail in earnest. And this is likely to make life interesting for her next opponent, 17th seed Ashleigh Barty.
Against Pliskova yesterday, Williams struck her bread-and-butter groundstrokes with depth and conviction, and covered the corners surprisingly well. But she was slow to move forward and lacked touch on any shot that required improvisation. She also struggled to read her opponent’s swinging lefty serve, a major factor in Pliskova’s tally of 15 aces.
As Williams explained after her 7-6, 6-4 victory, “There was a ton of aces. After her first game of serving, I said, ‘Okay, I have to serve really well today because there's not going to be a tremendous amount of rallies.’ But I feel like the second set we had a lot more rallies and we were getting in the rhythm a little bit more, and that kind of helped a little bit. I really feel like I can improve on literally everything, and that's the great thing.”
Williams has not always been the most forthcoming of interviewees when it comes to post-match analysis. But yesterday she positively beamed her way through the questions, dispensing wisdom, bonhomie and gossip with equal enthusiasm. On this evidence, motherhood must be agreeing with her.
Asked about the challenges she has faced since the birth of Olympia, she replied “You have to get your core back, which is hard, because it literally spreads when you have a baby. And just coming back from the physical [side] of having a baby, at my age, is never really easy.
“I'm a super hands-on mom,” Williams added. “Maybe too much. If I'm not practising, we're hanging out. I'm concerned how that's going to work out for me, because normally in grand slams, I do spend a lot of time at the site. She's so young, I don't really bring her. So, yeah, this is definitely going to be interesting.”
Other questions involved the royal wedding, which Williams attended with her husband, the internet entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian. “It was really exciting to see so much African-American culture impacted in the wedding,” she said, “and I was really happy that Meghan wanted to incorporate that into it. I think it was just a whole cultural shift and change … an incredibly inspiring and beautiful and really motivating thing.
“But there was no beer pong,” Williams added, in relation to reports that guests at the reception played a popular drinking game in which you throw ping pong balls towards other people’s glasses, obliging them to gulp down any drink with a ball in it.
“I don't even drink beer,” Williams added, “and I don't know where this story came out. It's not even remotely true. And my friends are, like, What happened? I'm like, ‘There was no beer pong.’ I was looking at Alexis, like, ‘Wait a minute, did we miss something?’ Anyway, we have a big laugh about it.”
Game, set and match! Williams defeats Pliskova 7-6, 6-4
Serena kicks the game off with a trademark drive volley, before she's almost made to cry with laughter after being flummoxed by the most unfortunate of net cords that sends her sprawling to the floor for 30-30. Pliskova then sends a forehand long to bring up match point at 40-30 for the three-time champion. Serena can't take it though as she sends a drop shot sadly into the net. A double fault then hands Pliskova a break back point, but Williams saves it with a second serve-forehand winner combo. Another break point follows, but Pliskova nets a backhand to waste the opportunity. Serena then makes a mess of a forehand to hand her opponent a third break point of the game. Again though the chance goes begging - this time a skidding second serve does the damage. And moments later its match point No. 2 for Williams as Pliskova nets a forehand return. This time she takes it! Pliskova nets a forehand, and Serena is safely through after 1hr 47 min.
Williams will play the 17th seed Ashleigh Barty in the second round on Thursday.
Pliskova 6-7, 3-4 Williams* (*denotes next server) - Williams breaks
Pliskova's 13th and 14th aces of the match take her to 40-0, but three superb returns from Serena have us back at deuce. Pliskova then makes a horrible mess of a forehand to fall down break point, before another missed forehand hands over the break to Williams.
This is a strange, undulating match. The quality has dipped in the last few games.
Pliskova* 6-7, 3-3 Williams (*denotes next server) - Pliskova breaks back
Much better serving - including an 11th ace - helps Serena to 40-15, but Pliskova nails a couple of returns to level things up at deuce. Williams then can't quite retrieve a Pliskova lob and she's down break point again. This time, Pliskova takes it as Serena nets a forehand.
Williams is furious at herself for wasting those two points to take a 4-2 lead.
Pliskova* 6-7, 2-2 Williams (*denotes next server)
Pliskova is getting a good look on the Williams serve, and she thwacks away consecutive forehand return winners to earn herself a break point up advantage. Serena saves it with a strong serve down the T, and two unreturned serves follow to eke out the hold.
Pliskova 6-7, 2-1 Williams* (*denotes next server) - Williams breaks back
After we finally had a break in the previous game, are we about to see another one straight away? Yes we are. Serena earns herself two break points at 15-40 with a forehand pass on the stretch, before a Pliskova double fault seals the deal.
We're back on serve in the second set.
Pliskova* 6-7, 2-0 Williams (*denotes next server) - Pliskova breaks
At last, Pliskova has her first break point of the match as Serena double faults at deuce. How does the American respond? With an ace out wide, of course. But Williams then double faults when up advantage, and Pliskova nails an inside out forehand winner to earn a second break point. You know what happens next - Serena bangs down another ace. After a couple more deuces, Pliskova earns herself a third break point with another forehand winner. Can she take this one? Yes she can! Williams nets a forehand, and after 66 minutes we have the first break of the match.
That was a poor game from Williams, including two double faults. Her energy and intensity has just dropped a touch at the start of this set.
Pliskova 6-6 Williams* (*denotes next server) - Tie-break time
Serena again gets a glimmer of a break at 30-30 as Pliskova nets a pretty regulation backhand. A very shaky forehand follows, and Serena is up set point at 30-40! Can she take it? No! Pliskova slams an ace down the T. A couple of strong serves follow to secure the hold for the Czech.
We're into a tie-break.
Pliskova* 2-3 Williams (*denotes next server)
Hi everyone, Charlie Eccleshare here. I've just jumped over from Kyle Edmund's very impressive straight-sets win over Alex De Minaur.
Anyway, to the here and now where it's another hold for Serena - this time to 30 - to keep the American's nose in front. Naturally all the noise on social media has been about Serena's eye-catching black cat-suit.
The comeback continues
It's a big day at the French Open as Serena Williams makes her comeback on Day 3 of the clay-court Grand Slam following the birth of her daughter in September.
Williams hasn't played in a major since winning her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open and a big question mark is hanging over her current form. A three-time champion at Roland Garros, she has not played a single competitive match on clay this season ahead of her first round meeting with Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic
Also in the women's first round, 2016 winner Garbine Muguruza plays another former French Open champion, Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, who won in 2009. And No. 1 seed Simona Halep starts her French Open campaign against 83rd-ranked Alison Riske of the United States.
Play has been interrupted at on Tuesday morning because of rain.
Third-seeded Marin Cilic and James Duckworth played for a little more than one hour on Court Philippe Chatrier before they were sent back to the locker room by tournament officials.
Cilic, a runner-up at the Australian Open earlier this year, led 6-3, 5-4 when their first-round match was stopped.
Dan Zeqiri