الصفحات

Venus in Wonderland: Williams's eye-catching outfit causes a stir

احدث اجدد واروع واجمل واشيك Venus in Wonderland: Williams's eye-catching outfit causes a stir

Thumbnail image for video asset.

Venus in Wonderland: Williams's eye-catching outfit causes a stir 
Venus Williams has been called the "Lady Gaga of tennis" by the British media, after her tummy-revealing, canary-yellow top and flesh-coloured underwear on-court outfit caused a stir at the Australian Open yesterday.

The American World No.5 told the media her attire was inspired by Alice in Wonderland and she had wanted to create a "surprise in a tennis dress", an ambition easily achieved by the lattice-like top, which brought to mind the criss-crosses of pastry atop an apple pie.

"Yeah, don't laugh. But it's kind of about a surprise, because when Alice goes down the hole, the rabbit hole, she finds all these things that are so surprising," Williams said.

Advertisement: Story continues below

"This outfit is about having a surprise in tennis a dress, and kind of, you know, showing some skin and then just having a print. Prints don't happen that often in tennis. So it's called the Wonderland dress. It was fun."

Many fans thought they had gone down a rabbit hole when Williams revealed the outfit at the start of her three-hour slog against a dogged Sandra Zahlavova on Rod Laver Arena yesterday afternoon.

English cricketer Graeme Swann said Williams "looks like a cheese and onion slice" and that it "could easily be the worst outfit ever seen on a tennis court".
Other called it "eye-popping", said it "had a touch of the temporary plastic fencing you see at building sites" and "looked like a mix between [the] Solid Gold Dancers and Edward Scissorhands".

Time magazine said her namesake, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, "was probably vomiting in the heavens".

The Sun asked: "Had someone who didn't like her gone at it with a pair of scissors? Is there a mirror in her hotel room?"
Her outfit was not the only aspect of her game that was criticised. British tennis player Andy Murray said he thought he was watching a documentary about "someone giving birth" when he switched television channels to watch the Williams-Zahlavova match, London's Daily Telegraph reported.

"Never heard so much noise in a tennis match," Murray tweeted.

Williams recovered from losing the first set, and a leg injury that required a medical timeout, to win 6-7, 6-0, 6-4 in three hours.
"I put a lot of thought into my dresses. I love fantasy, and this was kind of a way to express who I am on court," Williams said after her tough win.

Williams and her injured sister Serena, the world No.4, have long been innovators in tennis fashion, and take a keen interest in designing their own outfits.

She said her injury was to her psoas muscle, in the area around the groin, and she was hopeful she would be fine to play her next match on Friday.
She admitted the pain from the injury had been "acute".

"But I just wanted to stay on the court and try to survive and see if I could feel better another day," she said.

"Definitely this being a major I definitely gave it my best. It wasn't easy out there at all. Had it not been a major, would have definitely been harder to continue."

The men's draw also caught the attention of fashion watchers - although with attire that was a lot less garish.

In the evening match yesterday, world No.2 Roger Federer was a picture of perfect elegance in a white and grey outfit as he battled to a five-set win over Frenchman Gilles Simon, who was decked out in a striped shirt and lime green shorts.

Willams's opponent in the next round, Germany's Andrea Petkovic, also has her own injury woes. But at least she was quick to praise the American for her latest fashion creation.

"I really admire her for her courage to go out with a dress like this," she was quoted in The New York Times as saying.

"I would never do that because everybody would say I was crazy, but Venus can do it, and I admire her for that. Tennis is show business."

...

المشاركات الشائعة