Serena Williams sent out a powerful message with this outfit

(Image credit: Rex)

Unfortunately, Serena Williams has to spend far too much time justifying her on-court outfits, especially when she faces criticism from people who would never call out Andy Murray for what he plays in.

Last year, she was praised for wearing a catsuit not long after giving birth to her daughter, and even then she faced backlash for competing in tournaments again so soon. Again, no one challenged Andy Murray about this, when he has a little one at home too.

She said the catsuit made her feel 'like a warrior', and it even featured technology that helped prevent blood clots, a serious health problem she faced after the complicated birth. Sadly, the French Open didn't see things that way and decided to ban it.

French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli said, 'I think that sometimes we've gone too far… It will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and the place.'

(Image credit: Rex)

But she hasn't let that stop her, and I'm so here for it. Yesterday the tennis pro made another high fashion statement at the French Open, wearing a black and white cape by Virgil Abloh for Nike. The set also featured a skirt and crop top underneath.

And on the cape (yes, true heroes DO wear capes), were the words, 'queen', 'champion', 'mother' and 'goddess'.

What Serena did, on top of winning her match that is, is show that she won't bend to dated, misogynist rules, and that her fashion choices really don't have anything to do with her performance.

And that, my friends, is worth much more than a trophy.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.