Venus Williams is still wearing really short dresses at Grand Slams

The length of Venus Williams' hemline is inversely proportional to the tennis star's age: as she gets older, the dresses get shorter.


Sporting her most mini-tennis dress yet, the seven-time Grand Slam champion opened play at the 2011 Australian Open on Monday, winning decisively in straight sets. The quick 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sara Errani was especially nice because it allowed us to focus on the most important part of the match; that short blue dress.

Though not as campy as her can-can number from last spring nor as flashy as the dress she wore in New York at the U.S. Open, the new self-designed garment sets a new mark in tininess. Even when pulled down all the way, it still barely came down to her thighs
 

And, to think, if not for a last-minute change by Venus, the dress may have even been more revealing. After the match Williams told reporters she almost wore skin-colored (or nude) shorts underneath rather than black (like she did at last year's French Open)
 
Q. Just on your outfit today, is that one of your designs? Can you tell us a little bit about that?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, uhm, the design, it really was an Illusion dress, the illusion when I wear the nude shorts under. But at the last minute I decided not to.

Q. Why was that?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I just decided to wear the black ones. But, you know, it's just about focusing on the dress and not anything else. I mean, I had black shorts under.

But normally like it's all about the dress because it has a mesh and a satin kind of material. Of course, it's all sports gear, and it's all about that zipper, too. A lot of the focus of the dress is the zipper.