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Maria Sharapova
She is a fashionista’s favourite style icon. Every outfit Maria Sharapova wears on court — from a racerback tee to a frilly skirt to a pair of shiny danglers — makes a statement. Fashion gurus wait for her to reveal her look before every Grand Slam. So what if the Russian former world number one has done precious little with her precocious talent? Her clothes just get better!
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Anna Kournikova
She set new fashion trends in tennis. Her looks and oomph — more than her serve and volley — kept the Russian consistently in the news since her debut at age 14. From glossy spreads to fashion week catwalks to calendar shoots, Anna Kournikova was the ‘it’ girl initsy-bitsy, for tennis fans and also popstar Enrique Iglesias. “I am beautiful, famous and gorgeous,” she said once. Koi shaque?
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Ana Ivanovic
She looks as hot in an Adidas skirt and tee on court as she does in a Roberto Cavalli gown off it. The sexy Serbian — once the top-ranked female player in the world — is one of the game’s fashion icons. Flashing grey-green eyes, smooth olive complexion, gleaming white smile and a body to die for. Gape on, guys!
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Caroline Wozniacki
Girly and gorgeous. “For me it’s important to feel good on court and of course to look good. Then I can focus on my tennis,” is the current world number one’s feel good-look good mantra. Hailed for her hatke style choices, the delicious Dane keeps it chic and classy. If only she was less boring on court.
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Daniela Hantuchova
She is often dismissed as anorexic, but can it get any hotter than Slovakian tennis pro Daniela Hantuchova? Doubt it? Look at the picture above and sweat it out.
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Mary Pierce
Who could resist looking on — stare or on-the-sly — when a Mary Pierce match was playing on TV? Sexy and stylish, the blonde bombshell was a wow watch — that tight plait, those massive earrings, the cleavage-baring dress, that flash of thigh and that high-decibel moan (her enemies called it the grunt). Whew!
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Sania Mirza
Full-bodied flower child of Indian tennis, who sadly loses more matches than she wins. But we still love her in her round necks, V-necks, short collared tees — with or without a saucy message — and short skirt. Add to that a cute ponytail, ear stud, nose stud... Shoaib Malik is one lucky loser!
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THE 2011 AUSTRALIAN OPEN WAS ABOUT A SPECTRUM OF SWEATY, GARISH GIRLS IN ILL-FITTING LYCRA, UGLY FOOTWEAR AND TOO-SHORT SKIRTS
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| Former world number one Venus Williams, ousted in the third round, was a fashion disaster at the 2011 Australian Open |
Looking at the ‘car-crash couture’ currently darting around the courts at the Australian Open, it’s impossible to believe that tennis used to be such an impeccably stylish sport.
For decades, women were goddesses on the court, from the ethereal floaty skirts and plimsoles of the ’20s, to the prim and classic silhouettes of the ’50s, through to the slick ’70s sportswear that is still so heavily referenced in fashion and hip-hop today.
Like all fashion, tennis-wear lost its way somewhat in the ’80s and ’90s, and then the arrival of tennis power siblings, Venus and Serena Williams, onto ‘the circuit’ changed the sport forever.
For every trophy the pair added to their bulging cabinet, their outfits became brasher, louder and more overtly sexual. Their bold, attention-grabbing attitude was a breath of fresh air for the previously stuffy sport, and they re-wrote the rulebook on acceptable on-court attire, with dangly earrings, neon colours, cut-away tops and barely-there skirts quickly becoming de rigueur.
But where has this revolution left the sport today? The 2011 Australian Open can best be described as a fashion nightmare, with the focus of the competition appearing to shift from, ‘who’s got the best backhand’, to ‘who’s got the sluttiest outfit’.
Venus Williams warned us what was coming before the tournament began, promising more original dress designs than ever before: “There’ll be more illusion, and also skin... more skin this year,” she said.
Well, she wasn’t kidding. We are only three weeks into 2011, but her canary-yellow, peek-a-boo lattice-style dress with abstract floral printed satin micro-skirt will take some beating on this year’s worst-dressed lists. The ensemble was offset by her favourite flesh-coloured granny pants, topped off with a surgical dressing protruding from beneath the hemline and through the lattice.
The blue, figure-hugging dress with plunging neckline that she wore in the first round caused something of an optical illusion as she raced around the similarly-coloured court. The zipper kept lifting up at the front meaning she was continually pulling it down.
“The design, it really was an “Illusion” dress, the illusion when I wear the nude shorts under. But at the last minute I decided not to (wear them),” she said. “You know, it’s just about focusing on the dress and not anything else. I mean, I had black shorts under,” she clarified quickly. And there we were thinking we should be focusing on her game…
Unfortunately where Venus leads, others follow, leaving us with a spectrum of sweaty, garish girls in ill-fitting Lycra, ugly footwear and too-short skirts — none of which are particularly suited to their bulky, athletic frames. Maybe all the clashing colours are designed to distract their opponents, but it comes off as just plain tacky.
And am I the only one wondering why girls in 2011 would want to flash so much knicker? It seems so regressive, yet they all compete in skirts so short, it’s a wonder they even bother with them at all.
The sport is crying out for a style icon to lead it out of the sartorial mess it’s in. Maria Sharapova showed early promise, turning up on the red carpet of many a fashionable event looking on-trend, but quickly descended into the pit of performance fabrics. One to watch is Daria Schieferstein who has just been chosen as a bright young thing to watch by Louis Vuitton, featuring in their spring/summer 2011 fashion jewellery campaign.
There’s no shortage of designers out there collaborating with sportswear lines either, with Stella McCartney’s hugely successful line for Adidas (sponsoring Caroline Wozniacki), Richard Nicoll’s new range for Fred Perry and Hussein Chalayan’s collection for Puma, not to mention Ralph Lauren who designs the uniforms for the Wimbledon umpires, linesmen and women and ball boys and girls.
If the king of American leisurewear can restore the essence of traditional English sporting cool again, perhaps he could be the man to makeover the female tennis players. Good luck Ralph, here’s some inspiration to get you started...
Belinda White
The Daily Telegraph
WHEN IT COMES TO THE WORST DRESSERS ON THE TENNIS CIRCUIT, IT’S GAME, SET AND MATCH TO THE WILLIAMS SISTERS
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| VENUS WILLIAMS From a lace corset at the 2010 French Open that revealed more than it hid to sequinned leather hotpants to fluorescent lingerie, the Venus Williams on-court lookbook is one unending horror story. | SERENA WILLIAMS Maybe not as adventurous as Venus, Serena too has walked down the disastrous fashion choice path time and again. Rewind to the biker jacket and studded skirt at US Open 2004 and the groan-tight catsuit at the same tournament two years earlier. Aaargh. |
SPECIAL slam
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| BETHANIE MATTEK Who that? Our sentiments precisely. This American can never hit the headlines with her strokes, so she grabs space with her unusual (read: crazy) style choices. A gold spacesuit to a tiger-print bra and skirt ensemble to a Roman-style skirt, Bethanie’s clothes sure can raise a racket. |
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| ROGER FEDERER The stylish Swiss has a deeply evolved fashion sense. Making classic look cool on court, Federer often throws everyone off-guard with his unusual choices — from a white blazer-and-pants enemble to a military-style gold-trim jacket to even a cashmere cardigan. Never over the top, Fedex’s on-court style is elegant, understated and arresting. Just like his game. | RAFAEL NADAL If their playing styles are completely different, their fashion sense is poles apart. Rafa is the man of pop colours, sleeveless tees, bandannas and capri pants. Often credited with creating “the most original look” in the history of the men’s game, Nadal’s on-court style — described as the “pirate look” — is as flamboyant as his game. And when it comes to the sexy Spaniard, he just makes everything work. |
SPECIAL MENTION
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| ANDY RODDICK He may not particularly stand out for his on-court style, but the former world number one does catch the eye off and on. Sample: His flaming red shoes at the just-concluded Australian Open. |
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| ANDRE AGASSI His fashion choices made as much noise as his double-fisted backhand. Denim shorts, blonde highlights and garish colours, the Agassi style from the baseline was showy and in-your-face. But hey, we loved it. Hair (wig) or hairless. Right, Steffi? | BJORN BORG The champ with a unique look: long blonde hair, beard, headband and tight Fila shirt. No one looked like that on court before him; anyone who looks like that now is said to copy him. Went on to launch a much-sought-after underwear line post-retirement. | JOHN MCENROE His talent and temper apart, John McEnroe’s very-’80s style made him an icon. Remember the unruly mop of hair with a life of its own above the fire-engine red headband? |
