Strange But True: Clothes Make the Player

Fashions in athletic clothing have changed in almost all sports. But in women’s tennis the changes have been amazing.

In 1884, the first Ladies’ Singles Championship was held at Worple Road, England. According to the records, the champion, Maud Watson, wore a very full skirt looped with drapery, which reached to her ankles. At least ten yards of cloth were used to make the complete dress. Its sleeves were long, and it was tight around the neck. No wonder Maud Watson couldn’t cover much ground! No one argued that such a dress was good for tennis, but in those days women who allowed their ankles to be uncovered were considered very immodest.

In 1905 a special “tennis dress” made its appearance, but it wasn’t much different from the one worn by Maud Watson. In 1909 both finalists wore full-length skirts, but the skirts were not so full and necklines were a little less confining. At least the players could move about and breathe a little more easily.

The first real break came about in 1914, when the French champion, Marguerite Broquedis, appeared on a court. She still wore an ankle-length skirt, but her blouse had short sleeves. She could swing her racket much more freely.

Then came 1919–and scandal! Another outstanding French champion, Suzanne Lenglen, wore a one-piece dress, with a lower neckline and a skirt that reached only to her calf. The spectators were shocked. They said she looked “indecent.” But Lenglen had no worries about tripping over her skirts. She won handily at Wimbledon, and soon other women began to dress in the same kind of outfit. Lenglen also wore colorful bandanas around her forehead and hair, a practice that would be controversial for 50 years.

In 1923 came another change. Helen Wills played tennis in a schoolgirl’s uniform with a shorter skirt. She wore an “eye shade” cap to shield her eyes from the sun.

Then years later, in 1933, came another breakthrough. Helen Jacobs became the first world-class player to wear shorts on the court, and the excited buzzing could be heard throughout the stands. Oddly enough, men had been playing in shorts for years but nobody had thought anything of it. Gradually, the shorts became shorter. In the 1940s, “Gorgeous Gussie” Moran played with frilly lace sewn to her shorts. The shorts were covered by a nice topskirt, but Gussie became more famous for her costume than her tennis.

Even then there was one more hurdle to get over in tennis clothing. Until the late 1960s major tournaments insisted that tennis clothes be white–only white. It was left to Billie Jean King, Rosemary Casals and other modern players to prove that pink or beige outfits would not damage the game or the player.

Many fashions have a way of repeating. But no one can imagine that women will ever go back to copying the tennis dresses of the 1880s.

From The Giant Book of Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.

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