Wimbledon fashion through history - in pictures

Maud Watson (left) defeated her sister Lilian (right) in the inaugural ladies championship final in 1884. White clothing was worn as it helped mask perspiration Photograph: PA Fifteen-year-old British tennis player Lottie Dod in 1890, who won Wimbledon in a calf-length skirt (the shorter length was allowed as she was still a schoolgirl) Photograph: W and D Downey/Getty Images May Sutton Bundy, the first American to win the women’s single’s championship, pictured in action. She caused a stir in 1905 by rolling back the cuffs of her dress, revealing her wrists. The sleeves, she complained, were “too long and too hot” Photograph: PA British tennis player Dorothea Lambert Chambers, who won Wimbledon seven times between 1903 and 1914, pictured in 1913. Lambert Chambers triumphed on court while wearing two or three stiff petticoats, as well as corsets Photograph: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images Daring French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen, competing at Wimbledon in 1926. Elizabeth Ryan, winner of 19 Wimbledon titles, said of Lenglen, “All women players should go on their knees in thankfulness to Suzanne for delivering them from the tyranny of corsets.” Lenglen wore a flimsy, revealing calf-length cotton frock with short sleeves Photograph: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Californian tennis player Helen Wills Moody during a semi-final match at Wimbledon in 1933. Wills Moody made the golf-style eyeshade fashionable and played in a white blouse and pleated skirt Photograph: Len Putnam/AP American tennis player Alice Marble at Wimbledon in 1937. Marble favoured tailored flannel shorts and crewneck T-shirts in a more masculine fashion statement Photograph: Len Putnam/AP Helen Jacobs at Wimbledon in 1936, another fan of the more masculine style Photograph: Len Putnam/AP Pauline Betz was one of the women who dominated the immediate postwar Wimbledon years. She wore jockey caps, short-sleeved shirts and skirts or shorts Photograph: Paul Cannon/AP Dan Maskell coaches nine of Britain’s leading women tennis players at Wimbledon in December 1946. Left to right: Kay Menzies, Jean Quertier, Joy Gannon, Molly Lincoln Blair, PJ Halford and Betty Passingham Photograph: F. Mott/Hulton-Deutsch Collection American tennis player Gertrude Moran, or ‘Gorgeous Gussie’, who was dressed by the tennis fashion guru Ted Tinling when she played the 1949 Championships. Beneath her regulation satin-trimmed white dress was the occasional glimpse of lace knickers Photograph: George W Hales/Getty Images American tennis player Billie Jean King, seen here in 1965, made the headlines for her performance, not her outfits Photograph: Central Press/Getty Images Outfits became shorter and tighter in the 70s, as seen on Australian player Margaret Court in 1971 Photograph: Frank Tewkesbury/Getty Images In the 80s and 90s, breathable and lightweight fabrics were developed, as seen on Steffi Graf in 1999 Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/EPA In the noughties, the focus switched to looks, with Anna Kournikova (seen here in 2002) and others wearing ever-shorter outfits Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images More fashion-focused elements were introduced, such as Maria Sharapova’s tuxedo-style top in 2008 Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Last year, Serena Williams managed to sneak some hot pink into her Wimbledon outfit Photograph: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images