It was a momentous milestone, brought about in no small part by an equally momentous champion, Billie Jean King. In 1973, the US Open became the first of the four Grand Slam tournaments to offer equal prize money to men and women competitors, a pioneering move that shook the sport and began to reshape it toward a more equitable future.
As we this year celebrate the 50th anniversary of this important US Open milestone, USOpen.org will feature a series of reflections upon other major markers of equality in tennis across this past half-century, each of which helped to nudge the sport forward toward the grand goal of a more level playing field for all. In this installment, we take a look at how women tennis players throughout history have embraced their agency in on-court fashion in pursuit of optimal performance.
These days, Grand Slam tournaments have become a bit like the Oscars, and the evolution of on-court fashion has played a significant role in that. Fans come to appreciate tennis excellence, but nothing generates a second buzz like innovative styles, especially on the women’s side. Below is a quick look at the evolution of free expression in tennis clothing … and how far women have come since the whalebone-corset tennis costumes of 1887.
In 1919, at Wimbledon, Suzanne Lenglen scrapped not only the corset, but also her petticoat. By the mid-1920s, Lenglen also competed sleeveless, prompting Grantland Rice to gush in Vanity Fair over her “perfectly molded arms, bare and brown from many suns.”
Still, racquets would inevitably get tangled in skirts, and nobody wanted to lose points that way. So the 1930s marked a movement toward shorts.
One of the pioneers was Lili de Alvarez of Spain who showed up at Wimbledon in 1931 in a “divided skirt” – a culotte style that most tennis experts thought would be fleeting because, according to the Associated Press, “the costume, despite the freedom of movement it gave, was not very becoming.”
Notably, in 1933, Helen Jacobs broke tradition at the U.S. National Tennis Championship and wore real shorts en route to winning her second (of four) straight titles at Forest Hills. By then, however, another American, Alice Marble (pictured, below) had “already committed to the new regime,” the AP said, and in 1939, Marble won Wimbledon titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles in shorts.
A decade later, Gussie Moran did the unthinkable. At Wimbledon in 1949, when the Californian wore lace-edged underwear in her second-round match, “tongues wagged with special vigor throughout Britain,” according to the United Press. Technically, the lace didn’t violate the dress code but Wimbledon’s tournament committee was far less enthusiastic and accused designer Ted Tinling of bringing “vulgarity and sin” to the club.
The brouhaha over briefs continued at Wimbledon into the early 1960’s after Karol Fageros wore 18-karat gold knickers in 1958 and Maria Bueno wore shocking pink ones in 1962. According to the UPI, Wimbledon referee Colonel John Legg said the colors were “inconsistent with feminine dignity” so in 1963, players were required to wear white undergarments on the grass. The rule remained in place for 60 years. Following protests at last year’s tournament, Wimbledon re-wrote its dress code to allow women to wear “solid mid/dark-couloured undershorts provided they are no longer than their shorts or skirts.”
But Anne White really broke open the fashion possibilities at Wimbledon in 1985. At the start of her first-round match against Pam Shriver, White stripped down to a white, scoop-neck bodysuit. White claimed it was to keep her legs warm. After two sets, the match was called for darkness. Tournament referee Alan Mills promptly banned the catsuit and, the next day, White showed up in a skirt – and lost. According to the rules at the time, players’ outfits had to be mostly white and “normal tennis attire.” What might have been deemed normal in an aerobics studio was still cutting edge on the court—for decades!
In 2018, Serena Williams showed up at the French Open in a black bodysuit with a red waistband by Nike. She said it aided circulation, fended off blood clots post-pregnancy, and made her feel like a superhero. But the president of the French Tennis Federation, Bernard Giudicelli, vowed that the all-Lycra number “would no longer be accepted” in subsequent years, explaining that “one must respect the game and the place.” Williams laughed at the suggestion that she would wear it again in 2019. “When it comes to fashion, you don’t want to be a repeat offender,” she told the AP.
Other modern-day fashionistas have included American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, the self-described “Lady Gaga of Tennis” whose knee-high socks, animal prints, and, in 2010, a daring warm-up jacket covered with giant white tennis balls and fringe, often pushed creativity and curiosity forward at the same time.
The elegant Maria Sharapova’s unforgettably brought the “little black dress” to the hardcourts during her US Open night sessions in the 20-teens. Sharapova’s designers toyed with necklines and cut-outs and created separate daywear dresses for her afternoon matches.
Venus Williams broke ground by starting her own tennis-fashion label (Eleven), in 2007. When she wore outfits that she had personally designed at the majors, she managed to morph her matches into uninterrupted showcases for entrepreneurship.
But really, no one seemed to have more fun with fashion than Serena.
And now that tennis’ most memorable female fashion icon has retired her racquet, we can only wonder who will carry fashion forward in tennis—and what will we see next?
