Wimbledon's rigid dress code, which requires all men and women to wear white from head to toe, has long been a hallmark of the Royal Grand Slam.
However, progress and modernity have proven over time that the rules of the game can never be fully maintained, certainly not throughout the 145 years of the tournament.
The first Wimbledon tournament was launched in 1877. At that time, sometime in the 19th century, it was believed that white was the ideal color for athletes to wear, as it would show as little sweat stains on it as possible.
However, the rules at first were not as strict as today.
The regulations were first updated in 1963, again in 1995 and the last time this happened was in 2014.
The grass in London is ready, Photo: AP
More than once actors and actresses stepped on the British grass with unique attire, a single item in the wrong color or moreover - chose not to go up at all.
We have compiled for you a list of five of the most memorable cases that happened at the All England Club, some of which consciously, and some of which did not, violated the rules of the game.
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Gassy Moran - 1949
One of the most memorable cases occurred in the 1949 tournament, and not necessarily because of an unequivocal violation of the rules.
Moran, then ranked fourth in the world, asked renowned British dress designer Ted Tinling, who has been designing special tennis dresses for tournament participants for 23 years, to design something new for her that would highlight her femininity - which is exactly what he did.
In a revolutionary move, which "put the world on the market" according to the descriptions at the time, he designed a dress for Moran with a cropped bodice, an unusually short skirt for that period, and underneath - patterned lace panties.
Gassy Moran.
Angered tournament organizers, Photo: AP
What made Wimbledon organizers so angry?
The fact that beyond the sports photographers, various media people also arrived and they were all busy with one thing - bending low enough to be able to photograph the lower part of the tennis player's body.
After Moran, nicknamed "Stunning Gassy," was eliminated in the third round (according to commentators because she was embarrassed and unfocused following the reactions), the Wimbledon management accused the American of using her sexuality and "introducing vulgarity and sin into tennis."
After the reviews, Moran gave up the skirt and went back to the shorts.
And tinling?
Removed from Wimbledon for 33 years, returning only in 1982.
Andre Agassi - 1988-1990
Apparently the one who took the opposition to the dress code at Wimbledon the furthest there is.
The veteran American, formerly ranked first in the world, refused to take part in three consecutive tournaments, solely because of the strict British rules (some say, another trigger for the decision was that the turf was his least preferred).
Agassi's hallmark was his look.
With rock star hair (which later in his career fell out and forced the actor to shave his head), and colorful and fashionable clothes in bright colors, the American could not bear the fact that he would have to give them up and was absent from the most prestigious Grand Slam in a completely rebellious act.
He eventually returned to the grass in London in 1991, dressed entirely in white and respecting the rules of the place: "Wimbledon is a place where I learned to wear white and where I learned to accept and appreciate tradition," the tennis player said in an interview with CNN.
A year later, he had already lifted his only trophy at Wimbledon.
Agassi.
Took the opposition to the dress code at Wimbledon the furthest there is, Photo: AP
Anna Kournikova - 2002
This time the story did not take place while playing, but did attract quite a few headlines then.
This happened not necessarily because of a gross violation of the tournament rules, but simply because it was one of the stars of the tennis world at the time, who became famous, among other things, for her beauty and modeling career that she nurtured during her playing career.
Anna Kournikova, who was already eliminated in the first round of Wimbledon 2002, was seen on the security cameras of the tournament training ahead of the competition with black pants.
Upon learning of this, inspectors were sent to the Russian tennis player and forced her to change her pants, which do not comply with the rules of the place.
Kournikova.
Training ahead of the competition with black pants, Photo: Reuters
"She did not apologize but she was very friendly and cooperative," said one of the inspectors who approached her.
And that's not obvious, given the fact that she did not have replacement white pants on hand, which forced her to wear the training pants of her coach, Harold Solomon.
Roger Federer - 2013
The Swiss diamond signed a sponsorship agreement with Nike in 2004 and for 24 years she was its official wearer.
Nine years later, a slightly less pleasant event arrived for them.
Federer stepped onto the turf in the first round of Wimbledon 2013, with the sole of his shoe orange, and it is not easy to guess what the reaction of the tournament organizers was.
Federer.
Orange sole, Photo: AP
The Swiss, who has lifted the trophy on the main pitch at Wimbledon seven times so far (eighth in 2017), was reprimanded by the tournament management for violating the dress code, even though he wore a full white outfit and even though it was all about the bottom of his shoe.
For the second round Federer has already come up with a new shoe, with a white sole.
A year later, with another strict update of the rules by the tournament management, Roger said: "White on full, I think it's very strict. My personal opinion? They are too strict."
Venus Williams - 2017
The American's case at the tournament five years ago made headlines a little because of the outfit itself and a lot because of what happened next at the press conference, which she also ended in tears - because of another difficult story, which we will get to later.
Venus Williams violated Wimbledon's dress code during the first round in 2017 by wearing a pink bra under her white dress.
After stopping the game because of the rain, Williams returned with a white bra on and continued to play.
Venus.
Pink bra, Photo: From Twitter
When asked to comment on the issue at the end of the contest by one of the reporters, the tennis player attacked and said, "I don't like talking about bras at press conferences. It's weird and a little embarrassing for me. I'll leave that to you. You can talk about it with your friends."
What was further asked to comment on, is the unfortunate accident in which she was involved, in which she accidentally caused the death of a passenger, about a month before the opening of the tournament.
This is undoubtedly one of the most traumatic periods in the life of an American.
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