Global Times

Serena attitude defused dress code row, says French Open director

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French Open Director Guy Forget says Serena Williams’ attitude defused a potential row over an upcoming dress code that he insists will be far less strict than the one at Wimbledon, French sports daily L’Equipe reported Tuesday.

The idea he said would be to establish a certain level of elegance or as he put it “a Roland Garros style.”

The move comes hot on the heels of a furore following French tennis federation chief Bernard Giudicelli describing the “Black Panther” catsuit American star Williams wore at the French Open in May as “going too far.”

Williams at the time took the announceme­nt in her stride, describing her relationsh­ip with the French Open organizers as wonderful.

“He’s [Guidicelli] been so easy to talk to,” Williams said.

“My whole team is basically French so, yeah, we have a wonderful relationsh­ip.”

Forget congratula­ted Williams on her attitude.

“With social media, everything goes viral these days,” Forget said.

“Serena was perfect, defusing any budding controvers­y.

“The idea with the dress code will be much more flexible than the one at Wimbledon, which has hardened over time.”

Wimbledon has a strict all-white dress code for its June lawn tennis tournament.

“Our current regulation­s allow for anything and with no framework some feel certain players are a bit too out there,” he said.

“Why not reconcile elegance without harming the creativity of designers?” he suggested.

“We have a new stadium renovation and new outfits would reconcile elegance, modernity and practicali­ty.”

Forget went on to say that perhaps the completion of the new look Roland Garros site in 2021 might be the perfect time to introduce the dress code.

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