01 September,2010 07:12 PM IST | | ANI
Tennis players have come under fire for the outrageous clothes they wear while on court.
Venus Williams' black, satiny corset-style dress, accented with faux leather fringe, at the US Open in Flushing Meadows on August 31 had people asking if tennis fashion has gone too far.
In January she debuted nude underwear at the Australian Open, peeking out from under a neon yellow dress, and at the French Open, she looked like a cocktail waitress in a black lacy number with red piping, and the famous flesh-coloured panties.
The controversial ensemble shocked the world, and one commenter gave a blunt response to a USA Today poll, saying she was a total inspiration, but unfortunately, the inspiration was from Victoria''s Secret.
"I haven't been a fan of Venus' outfits lately," the New York Post quoted David Rosenberg, a tennis fashion historian and the photo editor of Tennis magazine, as saying.
"They're really costume-y, really gimmicky. I don't think she looks her best. They could be more sophisticated," he stated.
Maria Sharapova also came under the scanner after she wore a blue dress under a see-through nightie at the Australian Open in January.
"As much as I hate Sharapova being upset in the first round, I'm relieved that her dress is out of the tournament," wrote one commenter on the tennis blog Busted Racquet.
Top seed Rafael Nadal and second-ranked Roger Federer were noticed for the unusual shades of pink they wore at tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati this month.
Federer went with a rose "tuxedo" shirt, while Nadal chose a fluorescent salmon top with matching headband.
And rising star Bethanie Mattek-Sands regularly dons sequined and gold lame headbands, toga shirts, leopard prints and knee socks, and was even fined 1,000 dollars at the 2005 US Open for wearing a cowboy hat.
The players' constant on-court flamboyance has left many tennis fans fondly recalling the days when all white was the norm.
"I prefer looking at the players in all-white at Wimbledon. I personally think no one looks as good as they did in the '70s with the white Polo shirt and the tennis shorts," W magazine editor and avid tennis fan Armand Limnander said.
