Serena Williams' tight jumpsuit in 2018, Stan Wawrinka's plaid shorts in 2015, Andre Agassi's jeans shorts in 1988... Roland-Garros sometimes looks like Fashion Week.
Between zebra outfits, fluorescent or wacky patterns, the spectators of the Grand Slam of the Porte d'Auteuil see every year of all colors. Yet, in a sport sometimes considered sanitized, there are strict rules.
.@stanwawrinka had announced: his outfit and his famous shorts have entered the FFT Museum at Roland-Garros. pic.twitter.com/8hrHywgJyG
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2015
This is particularly the case at Wimbledon, the British Grand Slam, which requires players to be "dressed in appropriate tennis attire, almost entirely white, from the moment the player enters the court". Inside the cap, underwear, laces, soles... Everything goes there and there is no question that the white is broken or cream.
Following players' anxiety about wearing white underwear when playing during their menstrual cycle, Wimbledon's dress code could be changed as early as 2023 to no longer be required to dress in white for under-waist clothing. pic.twitter.com/yU6jpvbocU
— Benoit Maylin (@BenoitMaylin) November 11, 2022
At Roland-Garros, this is not the case. Players are free to dress as they wish, despite the controversy surrounding Serena Williams' outfit for the 2018 edition.
The American player had presented herself at Porte d'Auteuil with a tight-fitting black jumpsuit, adorned with a red belt. An outfit that had not pleased the president of the FFT at the time, Bernard Giudicelli, who had put forward the idea of imposing a "dress code" following this outfit that bothered him.
The idea of a dress code mentioned in 2018
"I think we have sometimes gone too far. This outfit will no longer be accepted. You have to respect the game and the place. Everyone wants to enjoy this setting, "regretted the leader.
Read alsoRoland-Garros: can the cries of players in full point be sanctioned?
If the director of the tournament at the time Guy Forget had announced the upcoming introduction of a "dress code" "more flexible than at Wimbledon", it finally never appeared. A few months later, the latter had assured that he had "no intention of banning anything".
For the time being, Article 7 of the FFT regulations indicates that "players must wear clothing compatible with the practice of tennis", but specifies that "each competition organizer may define specific provisions concerning the players' clothing, in compliance with the framework defined in the paragraphs".
