Female tennis stars push boundaries with outfits at Wimbledon

Forget stuffy traditions, Wimbledon’s women tennis players have been pushing the boundaries this year with their imaginative on-court outfits.

Coco Gauff, the world No 2, has worn a custom-made, cut-out dress that fans have said is reminiscent of Serena Williams’ 2019 Wimbledon outfit. The 20-year-old US Open champion said she asked New Balance for a design featuring cut-outs, which gave her dress the appearance of being a two-piece.

Speaking after defeating Romania’s Anca Todoni in straight sets on Wednesday, Gauff said she tried to be creative with her on-court style while sticking to Wimbledon’s strict all-white dress code.

“I mean, honestly, Wimbledon there’s not too much you can do in the colour department. We just tried to do something different with the cut of the dress. I like to wear crop tops a lot. That cut is kind of supposed to be like a crop top, [in] an elegant Wimbledon-type way,” she said.

She added: “I just think of Wimbledon as a tradition. Even with my nails, I always usually get like French or white here just to match that elegance of it, so I think that was the inspiration from it. The only thing you can really do here is play with the texture.”

Gauff, who has previously said that she planned her grand slam outfits a year or two in advance, said her dress was not inspired by Williams. “Serena has just done every iconic dress fit in the game that unintentionally you can have something inspired by her,” she added.

Naomi Osaka, the four-time grand slam champion who returned to the tour in 2024 after the birth of her first child, also wore a distinctive custom-made set as she battled the American Emma Navarro, 23, on Centre Court on Wednesday. Osaka was defeated 6-4 6-1 in the second round match.

The 26-year-old former world No 1’s Nike two-piece, featuring asymmetric ruffles and a pleated skirt, divided fans. But Wimbledon described it as “an elaborate outfit that wouldn’t have looked out of place at the Met Gala”.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk wore a white V-neck outfit which was inspired by her own wedding dress during her first-round triumph against Slovakia’s Rebecca Šramková on Monday.

The 22-year-old 18th seed’s sleeveless, open-backed Wimbledon dress was designed by Wilson, the Chicago-based sports equipment and apparel brand that designed her wedding dress.

Kostyuk’s wedding dress featured a short underdress under a long silk organza gown with hand-appliquéd flowers. In an interview published by Vogue on Monday, Joelle Michaeloff, Wilson’s head of design, said Kostyuk’s SW19 dress was “basically the original [under]dress, but with a built-in ball short in this one”.

She added: “We added an underlayer component and then raised the neckline a little bit – we don’t want any mistakes in Wimbledon.”

Wimbledon’s all-white dress code dates back to the late 19th century, but the fashion has evolved over the years. In 1965, Italy’s Lea Pericoli wore a mini dress with a floral detail, while the American Anne White wore a Lycra unitard 20 years later. In more recent years, tennis stars have continued to push the boundaries with Maria Sharapova wearing a tuxedo inspired two-piece and Serena Williams donning a trenchcoat-style dress in 2008.