'No one told me!' - Memorable outfit controversies at the All England Club
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Updated 02/07/2015 at 11:32 GMT
It seems that every year at least one top player falls foul of the stringent clothing rules at Wimbledon, and this year’s Championship has already turned up a high-profile victim.
Eugenie Bouchard of Canada holds her head in her hand at Wimbledon
Image credit: Reuters
Last year’s runner-up, Eugenie Bouchard, managed to upset the All England Club members with a severe breach of etiquette in daring to wear a black bra beneath her gleaming all-white gear.
There was, at times, apparently just a small bit of strap showing - something which an eyewitness who happened to be there from the Eurosport office insisted was not visible from the stands.
The Daily Mail reported that chair umpire Louise Engzell held a brief conversation with the tournament referee to decide what to do, with the bra having broken the rule stating that "any undergarments that either are or can be visible during play (including due to perspiration) must be completely white."
But they decided to be lenient, and the Canadian was spared an official sanction and the fine that would have gone with it.
"No one told me anything about my bra!" she said after the match.
But Bouchard is far from the first high-profile player to have got herself into trouble over a tiny breach of clothing etiquette at SW19 – indeed, there’s a long history of memorable issues.
Gertrude 'Gussie' Moran shocked the mid-century tennis world when she took to Wimbledon in this short skirt in 1949.
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Gertrude 'Gussie' Moran playing at Wimbledon in 1949
Image credit: Imago
Remarkably, ‘Gussie’ was accused of "putting sin and vulgarity into tennis". Her sin was wearing a pair of lace-trimmed knickers at the Championships that year.
Anne White was asked to wear something completely different when her match against Pam Shriver was suspended overnight with her head-to-toe lycra body suit causing a tremendous amount of fuss in 1985.
“I had no idea it would be so controversial,” she said at the time. “It wasn’t my intention, as I took my tracksuit off, for anyone to spill their strawberries and cream.”
Tatiana Golovin escaped punishment from the All England Club in 2007 despite wearing bright red knickers, because ‘they did not go below the hemline’.
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France's Tatiana Golovin serves to Austria's Tamira Paszek during their singles match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in 2007
Image credit: Reuters
“They say that red is the colour that proves you are strong, and that you are confident, so I’m happy with my knickers,” she famously said after her choice of underwear came under scrutiny.
The following year, Maria Sharapova decided to sport a tuxedo-style top and shorts to take a fashion risk while still wearing all white.
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Maria Sharapova playing at Wimbledon in her tuxedo-style outfit in 2008
Image credit: AFP
The controversial choice appeared to aggravate her compatriot and opponent Alla Kudryavtseva, who said after their match, “I was pleased to beat her – I didn’t like her outfit."
That same year, Serena Williams warmed up for a match at Wimbledon by wearing a trench-coat, something which she had to defend in a press conference afterwards.
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Serena Williams of the U.S. warms up before her match against Urszula Radwanska of Poland at Wimbledon in 2008
Image credit: Reuters
"I just love coats and I’m always buying them,” she explained. “I don’t know why as I live in Florida – it just doesn’t add up.”
Roger Federer took a gamble with the All England Club members when he sported a gold man bag and military-style jacket in 2009.
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Roger Federer of Switzerland arrives on court to play Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun at Wimbledon in 2009
Image credit: Reuters
But it was a pair of orange-soled shoes which really got the Swiss legend into trouble in 2013 when he was banned for wearing the Nike trainers after his first-round match – something which was greeted with “absolute shock” in his homeland.
Citing the Wimbledon section of the official Grand Slam Rulebook, an All England Club spokeswoman reiterated at the time, “Players at Wimbledon must be dressed almost entirely in white.”
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The orange soles of the shoes of Switzerland's Roger Federer are seen as he plays a shot during his men's singles tennis match against Victor Hanescu of Romania at Wimbledon in 2013
Image credit: Reuters
The bold orange on the soles of Federer’s footwear, visible mainly when he serves, were considered a step too far.
No matter whether players stick to white or not, taking even the slightest risk can risk upsetting the All England Club rules. One thing is clear: wearing anything not entirely white or anything overly unusual is a gamble, one which players have to think carefully about as they visit London each year.
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