Those who are passionate about professional tennis are aware of the strict dress code set at Wimbledon, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Athletes have been competing here since 1877, and during this time traditions have developed that require participants to comply with a number of rules.

Nevertheless, this did not prevent the tennis player from the United States from entering the court in an extremely controversial image and gaining … worldwide fame.

Too pretentious

The basic principles of how athletes should look on the courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club include the mandatory wearing of white suits. In the rules, at first they spoke about this carefully, using the wording “predominantly white uniforms”, but since 2014 they have tightened the regulations.

Now the organizers require only white equipment from tennis players, and the presence of other colors is limited to a stripe up to one centimeter in size on the collar or along the edge of the sleeves and shorts. In addition, traditionally girls play in sports dresses, and not in shorts or other equipment.

It would seem that there is a certain magic and charm of the oldest tournament in this, but not all participants agree with this. In 1985, American Ann White went to the match against compatriot Pam Shriver in a white jumpsuit that completely hugged her body. The image was complemented by long leggings, characteristic of the 1980s.

Ann White / Photo: © Getty Images / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

It is interesting that this match of the first round had to be stretched for two days – the girls could not finish the first round because of darkness. Interrupting the meeting, the judge drew White’s attention to this situation and asked him to wear something more appropriate for the status of the tournament the next day.

Rival Anne was also extremely unhappy and, despite winning, complained to the officials anyway, demanding that White should never again be allowed to wear a jumpsuit in competition.

finest hour

Until that moment, Ann could not be called a prominent figure in world tennis. She has never reached the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam tournaments, although she has been participating in them since 1980. After the escapade in London, she also did not achieve much success. Therefore, her non-trivial appearance in the first round of Wimbledon was the highlight of her career.

Interestingly, the heroine herself reacted to the claims against her in an unusual way:

“I didn’t think my costume would cause such controversy. However, it was very comfortable to wear. It is functional and good in terms of aerodynamics. Photos in newspapers? I like them. I’m a little annoyed by the ban on this costume, but the organizers have the right to determine the rules themselves, the girl said in an interview with Los Angeles Time.

A similar hype around the images of athletes at Wimbledon subsequently met more than once. Think of Pat Cash’s multicolored bandana in 1987, Maria Sharapova’s tuxedo top in 2008, and, of course, Venus Williams’ pink spaghetti straps in 2017.

Maria Sharapova / Photo: © Clive Brunskill / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The status of the tournament inspires tennis players to express themselves, but Anne White was one of the first in this sense.