Tennis Fashion: In or Out?

The female players on the WTA Tour aren't the only ones dodging constant questions and debate about their tennis fashion at Wimbledon this week. We've all seen and heard about Roger Federer's latest Nike tennis fashion - cream blazer (with pants this year), sneakers, shirts, and duffle bag with gold accents, etc. He's the King of Centre Court, and as such, should be adorned as one. According to ESPN's Greg Garber:

"Last year, sponsor Nike created a cream-colored sports jacket Federer wore entering and departing the court. This season's swinging fashion statement -- perhaps second only to Maria Sharapova's Swan Lake-inspired dress -- is the matching Fred Perry-era trousers. When Federer peeled the pants off after warming up, the crowd at Court 1 cheered. The truly breathtaking thing about Federer is his ability to summon excellence pretty much at whim."

Roger Federer does know how to make a statement. But is it too much fashion? I give high marks to the blazer and pants. The outfit ties in a visual element to Fed's historical quest for a record-tying fifth Wimbledon championship in a row. The bag, however, is too flashy and, dare I say, feminine. In his press conference after his 2nd round win, and 50th straight win on grass, over 18-year-old Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, Federer said of men's tennis fashion:

"Yeah, well, I think it's important to look good on the court. I think we could have better outfits on tour in general. I had the idea last year of the jacket. Of course, this year we followed it up with an entire outfit because the idea came kind of short before Wimbledon so I didn't have much time to create something. But the jacket still created kind of a nice buzz. This year I enjoy wearing the entire outfit again."

The fashion helps to market the game in a really great way and gives the tournaments pre-event buzz and great word-of-mouth. It adds a dimension to the players, and as a result, the game benefits. But no worries. In the second week of the tournament, all the tennis eyes will be firmly planted on the real contenders for the Wimbledon crown and order will be restored.