Venus Williams’s underwear choice has stirred up controversy at the Australian Open.
The usually conservative Williams wore a pair of flesh-coloured boy shorts that drew comments she had pushed the envelope and gone “commando”.
Williams, 29, who is at the Melbourne tournament with her sister Serena, took to Twitter to say,
“I am wearing undershorts the same color as my skin, so it gives the slits in my dress the full effect!”
Some fans had been outraged by the choice. One wrote on Venus’s website: “Please put on some decent panties. I do not watch tennis to see your exposed buttocks!”
Another took the opposite view, writing: “I just love her dress – it has flare (sic) and it has imagination.”
Venus and Serena rightfully see themselves as fashion-setters in women’s tennis, taking great care with each and every outfit.
For Venus, it was all about the slits. She tweeted: “My dress for the Austrailian Open (sic) has been one of my best designs ever! Its all about the slits and V-Neck.”