Fashion passion thawing Maria?

The sometimes tense relationship between tennis superstars Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams may be taking a turn for the better over their shared love of fashion.

After winning her opening match at the Indian Wells hardcourt tournament, Sharapova seemed delighted to learn Williams had tweeted she thought the Russian's outfit was "totally cute".

"Really? Are those her exact words, 'totally cute?'" Sharapova said.

Williams, who hasn't played Indian Wells since 2001, concluded her tweet with "#approved".

Sharapova and Williams were caught up in a war of words before Wimbledon last year, after the American took a dig at Sharapova's romance with Bulgarian ATP player Grigor Dimitrov.

Sharapova responded with comments on the American's romance with her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.

The two have since tried to smooth things over publicly.

"I think we have to exchange designs," Sharapova said. "We have to design an outfit for each other, without knowing - that would be fun to do, without telling each other what it is, just unveiling it."

But Sharapova would draw the line at some designs - such as the catsuit Williams famously wore at the 2002 US Open.

"I like to push the envelope a little bit but still maintain an elegant and classy look and appeal to girls that are playing Under 14s and junior tournaments, and appeal to ladies that are playing in a doubles league," the Russian said.

"There's always a thin line because you have to create for different body shapes.

"It's a lot of fun. I really enjoy it."