27 AUGUST 2002
Women’s tennis world number one Serena Williams was showing off a lot more than her court skills at the opening day of the US Open at Flushing Meadow, New York on Monday.

Serena stepped onto the Arthur Ashe court for her first round match against fellow American Corina Morariu wearing an all-in-one, black leather-look, skin-tight outfit accessorized with pink wristbands and diamond tiara. Although immediate reviews were split, elder sister Venus, the Williams family’s fashion critic and design student, gave the outfit her stamp of approval.

“Venus really liked it,” said Serena. “She said it was a great outfit. It is really fun and really exciting and very sexy… I mean she just basically described me.”

She did, however, acknowledge that her outfit would not be to everyone’s taste. “This is a cat suit,” she said. “It’s made of Lycra and it’s supposed to have the illusion of looking a little bit like leather from a distance. It sticks to the body, it really sticks to whatever type of shape you have.”

With the 2002 Wimblebon and French Open titles already under her belt, the 20-year-old player sailed to victory 6-2, 6-3 against Corina, and looks set to achieve her goal of winning three consecutive grand slam titles in a row – a feat no player has achieved since Steffi Graf in 1996.