Take it off already and put something else on.

            There has been a lot of great tennis played at this year’s US Open, after last night Rafael Nadal vs. Feliciano Lopez match, which lasted until 1:15a.m., the internet has been ablaze with comments and discussion over who will win it all. For the women, there is a lot of weight placed on the shoulders of Venus Williams, now the only American left in the Open. In her match against Francesca Schiavone, Williams showed the drive and tenacity of previous years and was able to advance with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win into the quarterfinals where she’ll play defending champion Kim Clijsters.

            Though Williams was in top form last night, there has been one very distracting matter working against her throughout the Open, those dresses. Its fashion week in New York, and I can see the rationale in choosing to express your design capabilities more at this moment than any other, but seriously?

            A rhinestone firework design on your flesh toned shorts? That’s not style, that’s somewhere near the Hades of fashion, a cold dark place that lies between tacky and stripper. You’re not walking onto a dance floor, Venus. The only thing you’ll be dropping, popping, and locking are points, aces, and wins. This is tennis, Williams, and if it were at all possible to issue a fashion fatwa on you, it would be so ordered.

            The lack of aesthetic appeal aside, they’re also not very practical. In both her day and night dresses, Williams has been forced to tug, pull, and adjust which has lead to a lot of speculation that her reason for so many forced errors are because of the clothes not the person in them. In her match against Shahar Peer CBS began a tug count, she reached 42. From consumer stand point, watching the designer and spokesperson fidget around the court during one of the biggest tournaments of the year isn’t going to sell the product. Get it together.