Wimbledon is fast approaching and some of the spectators will be thinking of more than just tennis. What will the ladies wear?
There is not so much scope for the imagination at Wimbledon given the “all white attire” policy and this is great. We can focus more on the game and the excitement it brings—taking a step back and embracing the tradition of the sport.
Mary Pierce was a pioneer for looking good on court. The one piece outfit she donned at the Australian Open in 1996, though modest in today’s society, was something the tennis world had never seen before.
Gone are the polo tops with the elbow length sleeves and the bland white skirts. Glamour and tennis have now come hand in hand and from Anna Kournikova to the Williams sisters, there has been no shortage of color and jewelry at tennis matches.
Wimbledon puts the fashion and bling-bling to one side—allowing us to focus more on the quality of tennis and less on the quartz on Serena’s finger.
We are keen to hear what you have to say about the fashion dos and don’ts in women’s tennis . . . .
Tania Tchea is a tennis enthusiast and aspiring sports writer / presenter from Melbourne, Australia. She has experience working at the Commonwealth Games, FINA World Swimming Championships and other National Football Clubs, however her passion is tennis.
She has often been described as a Human Almanac of Tennis due to her strong knowledge of the game at a national and international level. Tania has previously worked for the Australian Open and Tennis Australia.
Editor’s Note: Check back at On the Baseline tomorrow for a first look at defending champion Venus Williams’ new dress for Wimbledon.
The first fashion faux pas that comes to mind is Bethanie Mattek’s socks a few years ago. Forget the rest of that outfit – those socks made her look like she was about to go play Michael Jordan.
Generally, I believe that the Wimbledon “fashion police” does a good job enforcing the rules, and I hope I never see the day when they banish the all-white rule.
they should have the policy at all grass tournaments
I doubt if change will come anytime soon. It’s all about tradition with the British. Bethanie is an exception to the fashion faux pas, probably needs a special category all to herself!
Tatiana Golovin’s red ‘devil’s pants’ underneath her whites was deemed within the rules. So the change might as well start from there, lol.
I loved it when Golovin wore the red drawers under her skirt. They did qualify as the allowed “touch of color.”
Does anyone remember Anne Smith’s bodysuit? That made people crazy–but it was white, and the officials had to allow it. A threat was once made to ban ALL color because Ted Tinling kept pushing the envelope with his players.
Clearly there is quite a lot you can do with white; just look at the wedding dress in its infinite number of transformations. The players do have to be able to move and move big however so detail and fussiness have to be kept to a minimum. It is fun to see what each of the designers comes up with each year. Venus certainly knows first hand what works and her new self-designed piece is sure to function well. Tennis whites are beautiful and cooler on court. There is something serene and classic about them.