Playing Devil’s Advocate: Tennis Dress Codes

In team sports, uniforms are an essential part of competing – not only do they distinguish a group of players from the opposing side, but they also help foster teamwork and team spirit. Their message: “We’re all in this together!” And deviating from the dress code – perhaps by donning a wrong color sock – might place you on the sidelines.

It’s a different story when athletes compete individually. But even in nonteam sports there are often protocols and guidelines to be followed when it comes to proper attire, especially if there are sponsors to answer to.

Yet there are some athletes who simply don’t care. They seem more interested in shocking than winning. (Of course, a fair number of them have managed to accomplish both.)

Let’s take, for instance, tennis, that once-genteel sport steeped in tradition. The tennis whites have long prevailed as acceptable apparel. However, over the years a number of prominent players have appeared on the courts in a multitude of outlandish or  inappropriate costumes. Not only do they look unprofessional and even silly, but they create an unfair distraction for their opponents. And worse, they make a mockery of the sport, setting a bad example for the younger players and fans.

The Willams sisters are prime offenders. Last year at the French Open, Venus Williams wore an outfit that looked like it came straight out of a Victoria’s Secret catalog: a racy black-and-red-lace jumper paired with skintight flesh-colored shorts that left her (albeit taut) derriere nearly visible for all to see.

Said she: “Lace has never been done before in tennis, and I've been wanting to do it for a long time.” (There’s probably a very good reason why that’s so, Venus.)  Earlier this year, she treated the crowd at the Australian Open to a bright-yellow latticelike dress, also with visible skin-tone undies. 

Her sister, Serena, six years before chose a denim skirt and black boots to wear at the U.S. Open. Was she expecting rain?

And at the 2006 U.S. Open, Maria Sharapova, their rival, opted for a black-sequined cocktail dress. She must have had a big date immediately after the match.

The male players don’t fare much better. At the Australian Open in 2006, Dominik Hrbaty donned a pink and black polo shirt with two huge holes cut out in the back. I guess he was hot. That same year, Radek Stepanek, clad in a black-and-white striped shirt, looked more like a linesman than a player in the Zagreb Indoors ATP Tournament.

The first women to play at Wimbeldon, the world’s oldest tennis tournament, wore full-length white dresses; the men wore full-length white pants. Wimbeldon still requires its players to wear all white (though, admittedly, tournament organizers can’t control the style of the outfits). It also imposes a strict dress code on others involved in the championship tournament, like the chair umpires and the ball boys and girls. (Spectators are spared a dress policy, though they have their own rules to abide by.)

The United States Tennis Association, the governing body for tennis in this country, doesn’t have an all-white rule, though it says it requires "proper tennis attire" for all sanctioned USTA tournaments and matches. But the word "proper" is not clearly defined.

It’s time for the USTA, as well as the tennis associations in other countries, to crack down on inappropriate tennis attire and restore a little class to the sport by spelling out specific guidelines. Doing so would create a more level playing field for all of the players, and keep the attention where it should be, on the game. As for those badly dressed  folks, remember: not all your fans love-love.