Serena salutes Flo-Jo with AO bodysuit

Be it with words or through actions, Serena Williams has never shied away from making a statement, and she made a big another big one on Monday to kick off her 20th Australian Open appearance.

Taking the court for her first-round encounter with Laura Siegemund, the 23-time Grand Slam champion removed her warm-up outfit to reveal an asymmetrical bodysuit, one inspired by track and field star Florence Griffith Joyner—known to many simply as "Flo-Jo."

"She was a wonderful track athlete, amazing athlete when I was growing up," Serena said in her post-match press conference. "Well, watching her fashion, which was just always changing, her outfits were always amazing. This year we thought of what can we do to keep elevating the Serena Williams on the court.

"The Nike team actually thought of this design of inspiration from Flo-Jo. I was like, 'Oh, my God, this is so brilliant.' That's where we started. Obviously, we made some changes and tweaks to it. It became this."

Throughout her storied career, the seven-time Australian Open champion has been pushing the boundaries on the court with both her play and her fashion, dating back to the famous catsuit. She wore it en route to the 2002 US Open title, where she defeated older sister Venus for the third leg of her first "Serena Slam."

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The bodysuit she is wearing in Melbourne was reminiscent of the "Black Panther"-inspired number she debuted at the 2018 French Open—her first major tournament since marrying and giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

"I feel like a warrior in it, like a warrior princess kind of, queen from Wakanda, maybe," she said at the time. "I'm always living in a fantasy world. I always wanted to be a super hero, and it's kind of my way of being a super hero. I feel like a super hero when I wear it."

Equally super was Serena's play on court against Siegemund; though the American conceded she felt more comfortable on court last week during the Yarra Valley Classic, there was plenty for the former world No. 1 to be pleased with after having to withdraw from her scheduled semifinal against Ashleigh Barty due to a shoulder injury.

"I was happy just to get through it," she said on Monday. "Wasn't sure how my serve would be after a little bit of that shoulder, but it's feeling good, I'm feeling good. So it felt really good."

The No. 10 seed will next face Nina Stojanovic in the second round.