Serena was in a black, figure-hugging outfit with a pink band around the waist, an outfit she designed with the intention for it to be practical and symbolic at the same time.

After beating Pliskova  7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in her first singles match in clay in two years, the 36-year-old revealed that her outfit made her feel like a superhero.

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Although the outfit was made before the release of the famous Black Panther movie, Serena has been inspired by some characters in the flick.

“We designed it way before the movie, but still it kind of reminds me of that,” she said after the win over Pliskova.

“I feel like a warrior in it, from Wakanda (the fictional setting for the film) maybe. I'm always living in a fantasy world. I always wanted to be a superhero, and it's my way of being a superhero.

“It was comfortable. I hadn't tried it on in a long time, over a month. So I was just winging it.

'I've had a lot of problems with my blood clots, I don't know how many I have had in the past 12 months. So it is definitely a little functionality to it. I have been wearing pants, in general, a lot when I play so I can keep the blood circulation going.

“It's a fun suit, but it's also functional so I can play without any problems.”

Dug deep

After 18 months away from grand slams, Serena dug in at the Court Philippe Chatrier on Tuesday to beat world number 70, Pliskova.

“I can improve on everything, that's the great thing, exciting. My speed on my serve isn't as fast as I normally hit it, but also I didn't really try to hit it that much. I was going more for placement,” she said.

She won again on Wednesday, this time with her sister Venus Williams, coming back after losing the first set to beat 14th-seeded Japanese pairing of Shuko Aoyama and Miyu Kato 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

This was the Williams sisters’ first Grand Slam doubles match in nearly two years.