Advertisement

Serena Williams' backless dress is a hit with fellow players

Melbourne (AFP) - Australian Open top seed Serena Williams' fashion sense has once again been making waves on court, with fellow players enthusiastic about the backless dress she sported in her first round match at Melbourne Park.

"Love Serena's outfit," Canadian seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard tweeted about the neon green dress with pink highlights that Williams wore on her opening round win against Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck.

Two-time Australian champion Victoria Azarenka was also a fan, tweeting: "Serena is rocking that outfit! Cut out back #sexy #outfit."

Williams, whose fashion statements in the past have included moon boots and leopard-skin prints, explained that her backless outfits this year were designed to send a message about female empowerment.

"Nike did these wonderful green colours and we decided to do something," she said. "This whole year is about the back and strength and women and power. We wanted to look at my back all year, so all year you'll be seeing my back."

She said the dress showed "you can be beautiful and powerful at the same time".
— AFP