Even by the usual attention-seeking standards of women’s tennis, Venus Williams appeared to be flashing rather too much flesh at the Australian Open.

But closer inspection—which many of her male fans undoubtedly undertook—revealed that the five-times Wimbledon champion was actually preserving her modesty with flesh-colored underwear.

The 29-year-old attracted plenty of wolf-whistles for the risque outfit, which brought to mind the famous Athena ‘Tennis Girl’ poster of model Fiona Butler scratching her naked bottom that once adorned the walls of so many teenage boys’ bedrooms.

Williams revealed that she designed the eye-catchiпg outfit herself, apparently managing to circumvent the Melbourne tournament’s ban on skimpy outfits.

The bright yellow dress also boasted a flesh-coloured panel at the front, making it appear to have a plunging neckline.

Williams’s outfit attracted a great deal of speculation on the internet, with dozens of fans asking her via the Twitter social networking site if she had ‘gone commando’ – or worn no underwear – on court.

She explained to fans: ‘My dress for the Australian Open has been one of my best designs ever! It’s all about the slits and V-neck. I am wearing undershorts the same colour as my skin, so it gives the slits in my dress the full effect!’

She added: ‘This is completely my design. I just sketched it out. The whole idea is just about the illusion that I’m wearing a deep V-neck. Then the idea was to wear shorts that were like the same colour as my skin. It works very well, apparently.”

‘This is completely my design. Anythiпg I wear on the court probably you could wear 20 years from now.’