From to , star player Andre Agassi refused to even participate in Wimbledon, as he favored brightly colored apparel; he eventually succumbed to the tennis whites rule, though, and in took home his first Grand Slam title after ending his boycott against the uniform. In , Wimbledon regular Roger Federer himself was chastised by the club after wearing a pair of shoes with orange bottoms.
For the next year, they clarified the rule about the soles of shoes. Others have skirted regulations by dying their hair bright colors and flirting with different forms of undergarments, accessories or trim. They also soon after banned short dresses from the tournament. But for Moran, the point was just better mobility. Although short dresses were eventually allowed back in, undergarments remain a sticking point. More recently, in and , Serena Williams pushed boundaries with brightly colored undershorts.
When asked about her choice to wear a pink sports bra for the first half of one of her matches, she quickly shut down the conversation.
Back in the s, there was a code put together by the All England Club. The color white became the clothing choice because of the classiness it brings to the table, and that it is also the best at hiding any sweat stains after a hard day on the court. Even to this day, certain colors are going to show sweat stains much more than tennis whites.
Even outside of Wimbledon, white is one of the most predominant colors in tennis. While very few players will wear nothing but white away from London, they will still have predominantly white outfits.
There are a few reasons why this ends up being the case. It might not always make sense to an outside viewer, but a lot of it goes back to how tennis clothes were made in the past. When natural fibers dominated, white reflected sunny weather better, and it was lighter overall. Sponsors also like lighter colors like white, because it allows their logos to pop a bit more.
The shirt is less distracting, and people watching on TV or in the stands can view what they are selling. There have been talks about Wimbledon finally letting go of the dress code, but others believe that it is part of tennis tradition. It is the only tournament that has these requirements, and it makes it feel a little bit special as well. This may have been to stop them from getting too warm, but social pressure would soon become a major factor.
Gradually, all-white was adopted as the leisurewear of the wealthier classes on both sides of the Atlantic. This was partly a status symbol: the working classes could hardly wear white clothing in their daily lives, as any dirt was obvious.
Those who did wear it were basically saying that they were upper class and did not need to work. White clothes also tended to be expensive, reinforcing their association with the social elite. Nonetheless, gradually, the middle classes also adopted the trend, in order to present a successful image.
By the early 20th century, participants in summer sports played by the wealthier classes, like tennis, cricket, bowls, and croquet, were expected to wear white. With the trend towards white clothing for summer sports, it was no surprise when, in , the club introduced a requirement for predominantly white clothing to be worn by all players. During this era, such rules were common, but in recent years other major tournaments have decided that players can be allowed the freedom to dress in whatever colors they like.
Wimbledon has emphatically not followed suit, with the AELTC making their requirements even stricter. They see the traditions of Wimbledon as part of what makes it unique and have no plans to change this rule. The Wimbledon dress code for players currently extends to 10 paragraphs. In a long-standing tradition of requiring players to bow or curtsey to the Royal Box on the Centre Court was discontinued by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent who also happens to be The All England Club's president, while Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, serves as the club's patron who deemed it anachronistic—though the requirement does stand if the Queen or Prince of Wales is in attendance—and in the prizes for the men's and women's tournaments were made equal thanks in part to some powerful statements on the matter from Venus Williams.
The all-white clothing rule may be annoying for players, but at least the club has shown it can change with the times in the areas where it really matters.
Have you got a Big Question you'd like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions mentalfloss. A version of this story ran in ; it has been updated for
0コメント