Fans come to Serena Williams’ defense after she unveils new look following years of criticism

The biggest female tennis player of all time has broken records with 23 grand slams, setting the gold standard. But immediately, all eyes are on Serena Williams’ golden hair, or at the least her detachable hair.

The style police are out in force, this time patrolling Williams’ Instagram account, where she debuted a honey-blonde hairstyle in support of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team’s Olympic gold medal win.

Williams, wearing a little bit black dress and striking sexy poses, posted the photos against an elegant copper-colored backdrop that completely matched her new look.

“Trying to look golden for my ladies in gymnastics. I love every minute of watching you guys be HUGE,” she wrote under the photo, tagging Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Childs, Jade Carey and Hezley Rivera. The women’s gymnastics team is probably the most dominant in Olympic history and is gunning for medals with a little bit encouragement from a tennis legend.

Williams’ new curly blonde locks caught the eye of a number of trolls who tried to hurl insults at her, but were immediately crushed by her fans.

“Everything she’s achieved in life and she’s still not happy inside. Take off that stupid wig and be proud of your natural beauty,” wrote one critic. “Why did you change your beautiful face?” wrote one other, referring to rumors of physical changes.

This time, her fans weren’t ready for it. They flocked to Instagram to show their full support for her glow-up.

Amid a whole bunch of emojis depicting hearts and fire (okay, and a number of eggplants), one commenter exclaimed, “Good to see you healthy!!” while one other joked, “Love that haircut.”

“Your hair is everything lately,” one fan noted, while others praised her stylists: “Your styling team is amazing, you look amazing.”

Williams, 42, has worn a spread of styles over the years, from black to blonde, curly to straight, with bangs, without bangs and every little thing in between. But rarely has she seen such an outpouring of love for her hair.

Instead, the mother of two has had to take care of constant comments about her “curly hair” and bad makeup. Just after launching her own cosmetics line, WYN Beauty, she’s dodged accusations of skin bleaching and cosmetic surgery. Even 5-year-old Olympia Ohanian once innocently exclaimed, “That’s a WIG!!!” to a fan who complimented her mom’s curls.

Back in June, Williams got herself into hot water online when she left the Ritz-Carlton in Paris along with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and was caught on video looking lower than perfect. She was supposedly on a romantic getaway, having fun with a while without her kids and relaxing. Soon, negative comments poured in, saying she had “lost her way.”

Not this time. As one fan of her new look commented, “The gold medal goes to Serena Williams.” She can add it to her collection.