Photo by: Alessandra Tarantino/ AP
For tennis legend Serena Williams, there’s only way to return to the Grand Slam arena after taking a maternity leave – and that’s in a Black superhero catsuit.
On Tuesday, Williams played in the first round of the French Open, defeating her opponent Kristyna Pliskova 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 to win her first grand slam match since having her daughter Olympia in September of 2017. This also marks the first time Williams has played in a major tennis tournament since the 2017 Australian Open, where she won the tournament while 8 weeks pregnant.
After winning the first round match at this year’s French Open, Williams told sports journalist Jon Wertheim that for her the catsuit represents “all the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and try to be fierce…”
“You can’t beat a catsuit, right?” @SerenaWilliams talks to @Jon_Wertheim after her 1st round win.#RG18 #Catsuit pic.twitter.com/ysbtUtONmO
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 29, 2018
Mission accomplished. Welcome back, Serena!
Williams is set to play against Ashleigh Barty in the second round of the French Open on Thursday.