For a tennis tournament based in Paris, the French Open isn’t being very fashion-forward.
The Grand Slam event has banned Serena Williams from wearing her black catsuit again, according to a report.
While discussing a new dress code for 2019, French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli singled out Williams’ celebrated outfit from last spring’s tourney, Associated Press reported, citing Tennis Magazine. “It will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and place,” he said.
Giudicelli said the tournament will be regulating the players’ dress code more thoroughly from now on, though not as strictly as Wimbledon. “I think that sometimes we’ve gone too far,” he added.
In a reference to the movie “Black Panther,” Williams wore what she called her “Wakanda-inspired-catsuit” to much fanfare at Roland Garros during her Grand Slam return from maternity leave last spring. The ensemble was designed to help prevent blood clots after Williams suffered a near-fatal episode following the birth of her daughter, Alexis Olympia, last September. She dedicated the catsuit to “all the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and try to be fierce.” She said it made her feel like a “superhero.”
Even if Williams did not feel the need to wear the outfit any longer, the French Open isn’t scoring PR points by singling out a three-time winner of the tournament, fan favorite and G.O.A.T. all in one.
HuffPost has reached out to the French Open for comment. Williams, who chairs the board of advisers for HuffPost’s parent company, Oath, competes in the U.S. Open beginning next week.
