by Wimbledon’s observing promises to be a nice experience thanks to three colors: green (grass) blue (sky -British -summer approval) and light white (uniforms). But did you know that these untouched outfits are monitored in an inch of your life? Or more precisely one centimeter.
Wimbledon is the only major who demands the players, purely white, a tradition that goes back to the 1880s. At that time, sweat was considered inappropriate and unsightly, so that white was worn to avoid a sign of sweat stains.
Take a look at all the pictures of the USA, the French or Australian openings and you will see color-and I don’t just talk about the red clay of Roland-Garros. But not with Wimbledon. The oldest tennis tournament in history takes its uniformity seriously, even more than 200 years after the rules have been created.
It may be iconic, but the players don’t always appreciate it. Andre Agassi was famous to play at Wimbledon from 1988 to 1990 because it prevented him from wearing his striking style of striking clothing, and Roger Federer was reprimanded in 2013 for wearing orange white shoes, which he had forced to play next.
A small concession will be made this year: For Wimbledon 2025, players are allowed to wear a black bracelet who can wear tributing to Diogo Jota, the FC soccer player from Liverpool, who died on Thursday in a car accident.
But otherwise they can usually expect white. In particular, the players are instructed to “be dressed in a suitable tennis clothing that is almost exclusively white*”, and the rules in particular do not dictate any cream -colored or cream. The small star enables “a single color cladding around the neckline and the cuff of the sleeves”, but it has to be “not wider than 10 mm”.
No solid color mat is allowed, which is why Wimbledon will never see white, patterned outfits.
Small logos are allowed, but not big. As such, you will be decorated with an unusually dainty Nike tennis logo as such as Mirra Andreeva, Katie Boulter and Jannick Sünder, who wear purely white Nike kits. The logo represents a tennis court with the famous Nike tick instead of the network, in which it typically contains the colors red, blue and green with a yellow cladding.
But some players have decided to think outside the box when it comes to Wimbledon’s strict dress code. Take the American player Coco Gauff, who was wearing a finely embroidering white balance kit on the first day to pay homage to the London legendary tailoring shop Savile Row.
It reminded of a similarly innovative look that the Russian player Maria Sharapova wore in 2007 and with a semi-heer-tuxedo front with layered ventilation slots and buttons.
Also this year the Greek player Maria Sakkari, who was discovered with a white and green adidas game suit and breaks away from the typical combination of tennis skirt and vest.
As early as 1985, the American tennis player Anne White wore a white Catsuit to take part in the tournament, a moment later when the American tennis legend Serena Williams was wearing a black Catsuit with the French Open 2018.
Despite the widespread praise of fans and media, Williams’ Catsuit did not go down well with the organizers. “I think we sometimes went too far,” said Bernard Giudicelli, President of the French tennis team, in an interview with the tennis magazine. “For example, the combination of Serena this year is no longer accepted. You have to respect the game and the place.”
Williams is known for exceeding the borders with her tennis looks, including Wimbledon. In 2010, she exchanged the typical sports coast for a coast, flapperic number. This was later referred to as one of the “most scandalous Wimbledon outfits of all time”, which says less about Serena and more about the stiffness of tennis and its clothing rules.
Her sister Venus also liked the rigids and traditional rules of Wimbledon Foul. In 2017, Williams reported reportedly forced to change their bra in the middle of a game because their pink belts became visible.
She was later asked during a press conference that she replied: “I don’t want to talk about my underwear. It is kind of uncomfortable for me. I will leave it to you. You can talk to your friends about it. I will survive.”
Wimbledon relaxed his rules two years ago in history for the first time. In 2023, the tennis tournament decided to have dark underwear worn by women who may be in their period, and marked an important step forward for an otherwise uncompromising event.
For 2025 we can still expect to see a lot of white. But since the tournament looks more fashionable than ever, the fans would be fair to hope for a little innovation in the dishes. Play, set, match!
