The women of Wimbledon get creative with outfits despite strict all-white rule

For 147 years, Wimbledon has enforced one of the strictest dress codes in sport.

But today, the tournament’s leading women are doing their best to push the draconian and archetypically-English rules to their limit.

From frills to wedding dresses, it is clear that times have changed since the petticoats and corsets of the 1900s.

When Naomi Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam winner, took to centre court this week in a custom-made Nike tank top with cross-body ruffles, Wimbledon’s own website said the outfit “wouldn’t look out of place in the Met Gala”.

The only hint of colour against the Wimbledon white was small flecks of green on her Nike shoes, and an olive-coloured Tag Heuer Aquaracer watch.

Wimbledon’s sole concession to its all-white rule came last year when it allowed women to wear dark undershorts to alleviate concerns of competitors on their period.

Coco Gauff, the World No 2 from the US, admitted in a press conference on Wednesday following her victory over Romanian Anca Todoni, that she had to be creative when trying to stamp her personality on her outfit.

Gauff, 20, who wore a redesigned crop top allegedly inspired by Serena Williams’ own wear in Wimbledon 2019 said: “Honestly, Wimbledon – there’s not too much you can do in the colour department.

“We just tried to do something different with the cut of the dress. Like, I like to wear crop tops a lot.

“That cut is kind of, like, supposed to be like a crop top, an elegant Wimbledon type way, I just think of Wimbledon as a tradition.

“Even with my nails, I always usually get like French or white here just to match that elegance of it. Yeah, so I think that was the inspiration from it.”

Gauff, who previously disclosed that she plans her Grand Slams outfits up to two years in advance, added: “The only thing you can really do here is play with the texture.

“Maybe next year, I’ll try to put more texture into it. Not much you can do here. But I do appreciate the elegance of it all.”

Ukraine’s Marta Kotsyuk victory over Slovakia’s Rebecca Šramková in the tournament’s opening round was given an added flair when it emerged she had won while wearing a near exact copy of her wedding dress, designed by Wilson, the tennis racket manufacturer.

Kostyuk, 22, and ranked No 18 in the world, told Vogue: “We were just talking about the wedding, and the dress – all of us: my agent and my team and some friends and some people from Wilson – and we were like, ‘Why not be the first brand in tennis to make a wedding dress?’”

She explained the decision to opt for a more athletic choice of clothes on her nuptials, saying: “I just knew that I didn’t want the kind of wedding dress that weighs 200 kilos, or anything that’s either so complicated or so fragile that you can’t move and you can’t enjoy being around people.

“So, we just started slowly, from nothing, and starting to shape it little by little.”

Figures released yesterday showed almost 41,115 visitors came to Wimbledon on the second day of the tournament, a thousand more than on the opening.

At centre court, Theresa May, the former Conservative prime minister, was seated with a Pimm’s on hand alongside tennis great Maria Sharapova and the Duchess of Gloucester.

Wimbledon fashion faux pas

Since 1877, Wimbledon players had been forced to wear all white. The only concession is a 1cm single trim of colour around the neckline and cuff of the sleeves.

In 2023, officials relaxed the dress code to allow women to wear dark coloured undershorts to reduce anxiety about playing while on a period. Over the years, a number of players have tested the dress code.

Venus Williams was forced to change her bra midway through a Wimbledon match in 2017 after officials said the pink straps were against the rules.

She changed her undergarments during a rain break in the second set of her victorious match against Belgian player Elise Mertens.

In 1985, the decision by Anne White to wear a white full-body catsuit to Wimbledon outraged her opponent Pam Shriver, who asked officials that she would never be allowed to wear the outfit again.

In 1919, French player Suzanne Lenglen scandalised the press at Wimbledon with her “indecent” outfit. Foregoing a corset and a petticoat, she wore a low-neck dress with short sleeves and a skirt to calf-length and silk stockings to just above her knees.

Lenglen went on to win the tournament and the next four Wimbledon championships, as well as two French Opens and three Olympic medals.

Meanwhile, in 1934, Elieen Bennet Whittingstall became the first female player to famously wear shorts on centre court. The sight of her bare knees was said to have caused shock among the crowd of spectators.