Serena Williams returned to Grand Slam tennis on Tuesday after maternity leave, turning heads at the French Open in what she called a “Wakanda-inspired catsuit.”
Williams said the outfit was designed to help prevent blood clots ― she faced near-deadly complications after giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia on Sept. 1 and says she has had several clots in the last year. But the Nike sportswear also had a whimsical side.
It made her feel “like a warrior princess kind of, [a] queen from Wakanda,” she said, referring to the setting of the hit movie “Black Panther.”
“I always wanted to be a superhero, and it’s kind of my way of being a superhero,” said Williams, who defeated Kristyna Pliskova in straight sets in the first round.
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The 23-time Grand Slam title winner added that the ensemble ― which actually was designed before “Black Panther” emerged ― was dedicated to “all the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and try to be fierce.”
She gave a similar shoutout on Twitter:
Williams is on the board of advisers to Oath, HuffPost’s parent company.