“You Broke the Web”: Alex Rodriguez Confesses His Fascination With Serena Williams’ Daring 2002 US Open Outfit

Tennis legend Serena Williams is used to stunning the world on the courtroom. Nevertheless, certainly one of her most iconic moments got here not from a blistering serve or cross-court winner however from a daring trend alternative. In a latest episode of Bloomberg Originals, Williams joined former MLB star Alex Rodriguez and host Jason Kelly to revisit her notorious 2002 US Open catsuit.

“That’s how I acquired well-known!” Williams jokes, referencing the meme that went viral together with her in that swimsuit. Within the candid dialogue, Williams revealed she virtually didn’t put on the legendary Puma design. “I put it on and was like, ‘I’m not doing this.’”

The dialog highlighted the cultural influence of Serena Williams’ daring outfit alternative. “You seemed wonderful,” A-Rod confessed. “I bear in mind… it was no Instagram, however you broke the web… quite a lot of my teammates and buddies have been sending me the image saying, ‘Look how fly she seems!’”

Each athletes agree that after they seemed good, they naturally performed with extra confidence. It’s a philosophy echoed throughout the sports activities world—one thing that Rodriguez believes in like a mantra: “You look good, you are feeling good, you play good.”

However, as Kelly identified, Williams’ catsuit second additionally carried a broader message. The tennis famous person blazed a path for physique positivity in a sport usually dominated by a single physique sort.

“I used to be principally a lone soldier,” Serena Williams admitted, noting that even her athletic sister, Venus, had a leaner physique. Regardless of not absolutely realizing it on the time, Williams was shifting perceptions. She recalled the preliminary hesitation she felt, even consulting with different gamers within the locker room. The suggestions was blended, with some urging her to not put on the daring outfit. However one thing clicked proper earlier than she walked out.

Physique Positivity on the Courtroom: How Serena Williams reshaped tennis for girls 

“I threw the catsuit on… after which it was simply, it was no wanting again,” she defined. The dialog crystallized the influence Serena Williams has had each on and off the courtroom.

“It simply crossed all borders,” she mentioned. The catsuit not solely turned heads and introduced new audiences to tennis—it impressed up-and-coming athletes on a worldwide word. “I didn’t perceive on the time, however seeing in a while… even the folks that began enjoying tennis after that… folks which might be at present enjoying due to myself and my sister, it began these moments.” Serena Williams reminisces. “It’s loopy to consider! I’ve by no means even voiced these items like, ‘Oh my God!’”

It was a second for each Serena, the athlete, and Serena, the icon. “It adjustments the enterprise of tennis,” Kelly famous. “Completely. Additionally adjustments the enterprise of Serena,” Williams smirked.

Whereas her Grand Slam titles present the onerous statistics on Serena Williams’ greatness, it’s moments like her daring catsuit that illustrate the total scope of her influence. She isn’t merely a gifted tennis participant; she’s a cultural phenomenon who reshaped trend and physique picture conversations and introduced the game of tennis to a complete new technology of followers.