The whites and the trim: Wimbledon has taken it a bit too far

How could the men be left behind? That is Marcelo Charpentier in Wimbledon 1997.

Venus in Beads

With age, Williams’ tennis matured and reached dizzying levels. Unfortunately, her fashion quotient did not seem to follow suit.

In Wimbledon 1997, Venus Williams did her hair in official Wimbledon colours, adorning it in white, green and purple beads.

Venus Williams with white, green and purple beads (Wimbledon 1997)

14 years later, in Wimbledon 2011, she wore an outfit that seemed to capture the status of her mind. Confused.

Venus Williams in her outrageous outfit (Wimbledon 2011)

Sole-stirring Wimbledon for Federer

Roger Federer’s outfit ticked all the boxes in the Wimbledon rule book except one. His Nike shoes had orange soles. He was asked to wear white shoes with white soles for his second round match.

The color ‘Orange’ forced Federer into some sole-searching (Wimbledon 2013)

In his earliest exit ever from Wimbledon, Federer lost his Second Round to an inspired Sergei Stakhovsky. The Officials literally pulled the rug from under his feet.

In a pre-match conference of his opening round at Roland Garros this year, when asked about his bold choice of colors for his outfit Federer said,” ‘I love Wimbledon but they’ve gone too far now. So let’s enjoy the colour while we can. Clearly you always want to make a statement in a nice city like here.

I hope people enjoy it and we’ll see how many times I can wear it — I hope seven matches.’

Wimbledon has indeed taken it a bit too far

While it is perfectly kosher to stick to tradition and create an aura that exudes exclusivity, Wimbledon has fallen far behind in the context of modern day Sports. With the recent ban of selfie sticks, it is clear that Wimbledon may not allow any element perceived to “defile” the royalty in the air.

While all other Grand Slams are increasingly looking for ways to bump up accessibility and make Slams spectator friendly, Wimbledon has not. The Australian Open is one of the most vibrant Slams where fans wear their hearts on their sleeve and cheer for tennis. This Slam has utilized technology to the hilt to keep the fans engaged.

Back to the Wimbledon dress code.

Each year, there is some player or the other who is willing to flirt with the boundaries or loopholes the dress code presents. Due to this there has been unnecessary controversy that has, unfortunately, taken the focus off tennis.

Pat Cash sporting his checked bandana (Wimbledon 1987)

Pat Cash who won Wimbledon in 1987, with a checked bandana around his head, has termed the dress code rules as archaic. He even went on to comment that some female players of his time were required to change their bras and shirts because they had some colour on them. Some of them did not have suitable sports bras and hence stepped on to the court without them.

Even leading sports brands are smarting because of the restrictions the White Clothing and Equipment rule imposes. The rules discourage the use of large brand logos on the outfit and the equipment.

In an era where coloured sneakers and apparels satiate demands for athletic fashion trends, the ridiculously stricter rules are not going down well with Sports brands like Nike, Adidas etc. It is in Grand Slams like these that brands get to showcase their latest footwear, apparel and equipment.

Brands have also tried to circumvent the rules by playing around with the fabric, outfit shape and color of the thread. While they have stuck to the whites, they have stealthily inculcated different types of fabric like Nike’s Dri-fit technology and colored stitching.

Anaysts have, time and again, pointed out to such guerilla marketing techniques employed by brands to drive home their point while trying to jump the hoops of the rule book.

Though Wimbledon is the oldest of all Slams, it exists because of Tennis and not the other way around. No Slam or player is greater than the Sport. Wimbledon should take steps to find the right balance between exclusivity and feasibility. The rules must encourage improving the business of tennis and not hindering it.

Sports brands sponsor Grand Slams and make them happen. The players play the Sport and contribute to the Entertainment Quotient. The Wimbledon should keep its tradition as a backdrop against which sponsors create a stage for the players to showcase their oeuvre.

But in this case, the rules have made tradition a spectre that haunts the sport on court and off it.