NEW YORK: Rafael Nadal voiced support Monday for Roland Garros chiefs who indicated they would institute a dress code at the French Open.
French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli created an uproar when he said in comments reported in the French media that some outfits, such as Serena Williams' "Black Panther" catsuit, wouldn't be allowed.
"I really believe that sometimes we have gone too far," Giudicelli told Tennis Magazine.
"The outfit of Serena this year, for example, will no longer be accepted. You have to respect the game and the place."
Williams herself downplayed any friction with Giudicelli on the issue.
Nadal said that he saw no reason the tournament couldn't limit what players wear, noting that Wimbledon did the same with its insistence on white.
"I really believe when you have a tournament like Wimbledon that does what they want you cannot say to another event that they have to do another thing," he said.
"Why if Wimbledon have their own rules, why can't Roland Garros?"